CSKT actions benefit farmers and ranchers
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
Editor,
In a July 10 letter to the Valley Journal, Lloyd Ingraham concluded that the Tribes would force farmers and ranchers to sell their land to the Tribes by cutting off irrigation water under the Water Compact. To support his case he referenced words in a 1996 Tribal Council resolution and an even older document stating that the Tribes sought to gain ownership of all lands on the reservation.
But actions speak louder than words. Over the past two decades the Tribes have implemented programs that benefited farmers and ranchers and enabled them to continue in business.
For example, the CSKT Safety of Dams (SOD) program attracted significant federal money to rehabilitate reservoir dams. This was not easy because many other irrigation projects compete for federal funds. If Project dams had not been rehabilitated the Bureau of Reclamation would restrict water storage in those reservoirs.
For many years the CSKT Fishery program secured federal funds to build structures, for example fish screens, designed to protect fish from the negative impact of Project water diversions. As reported in a US Department of Interior 2008 Biological Assessment, without the structural improvements implemented under the CSKT fisheries program Project improvements necessary to protect bull trout would be more extensive and costly for irrigators today.
The Project continues to face other major environmental challenges, including the need to reduce the flow of silt and nitrates into the Flathead River. A CSKT project at the south entrance to Moiese Valley is working to filter Project water that flows out of Charlo and Moiese into the Flathead.
The Tribes do not need a Water Compact to dry up agriculture; all they would need to do is halt tribal programs that have benefited farmers and ranchers by reducing the negative environmental impact of Project operations. If the Water Rights Compact is approved the Tribes and the Project will have additional financial resources to more aggressively correct environmental problems that threaten a reduction in irrigation water deliveries to farms and ranches in the future.
Dick Erb
Moiese
