Post by Okwes on Feb 6, 2008 11:27:03 GMT -5
Blackfeet move closer to water-rights deal
By KARL PUCKETT
BROWNING - A proposed pact is on the table that would quantify the Blackfeet
Tribe's federally recognized senior existing water rights on the reservation,
while protecting those who hold junior rights under state law.
It's not a done deal, but negotiators are hoping to have an agreement to the
Montana Legislature for approval before the session ends later this month.
The pact, which is being hammered out by officials with the tribe, state of
Montana and federal agencies, could lead to millions of federal dollars for the
tribe to develop its significant water resources.
Public testimony on the proposal taken during a negotiations session here
Wednesday showed how critical the water at stake is to tribal members and
downstream users of streams and rivers that originate on the reservation. "The
water is one of those things that you just fight over," said Randy Reed,
president of the Paradise Valley Irrigation District.
Reed, one of several people to speak, also praised the work of negotiators,
even though he has concerns with the pact.
"I know it's difficult," he said.
What's being negotiated are rights to flows from the St. Mary, Two Medicine
and Milk rivers and the Birch, Badger and Cut Bank creeks, which combine to
produce about 1.5 million acre feet of water flow a year.
The settlement negotiations are complicated, said Blackfeet Tribal Chairman
Earl Old Person. Sitting before him were no less than 19 attorneys and
staffers with the tribe, state and federal governments.
"It's Greek to most of us," Old Person said.
Historically, water has been sacred to the Blackfeet, he said. Old Person
urged all sides to "be careful what we do" for the sake of future generations.
The trick to reaching a deal is to quantify the tribe's water rights and how
the water would be administered, negotiators said.
"What we need to figure out is what the scope of the rights are," said Jay
Weiner, staff attorney for the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact
Commission, following the nearly four hours of public negotiations and testimony.
For more than 20 years, the state and tribe have been trying to settle the
tribe's federal reserved water rights claims. U.S. governmental agencies also
are involved.
A federal reserved water right is a right to use water that's implied from
federal action. In this case, the right stems from the Treaty of 1855 that
established the Blackfeet Reservation.
A recently proposed compact was the focus of Wednesday's negotiating session
at the tribal offices. About 50 people showed up. A Tuesday public hearing on
the draft pact drew 34 people.
Tribal member Gerald Blevins called for delaying negotiations to allow for
more study and education, particularly on behalf of the public, which he said
hadn't been involved.
"We feel like we've been rushed into this," he said.
Past relations between the Blackfeet and the U.S. government have involved
give and take, said Tom Thompson, who serves on the Blackfeet Water Commission.
"We've given, they've taken," he said.
It's his hope that some of the past wrongs can be made right in the water
pact.
"Our reservation is in dire need of economic development," Thompson said.
Joseph Weatherwax, who works in the Blackfeet Environmental Office, said he
doesn't agree with everything in the proposal but sees the negotiations and
the proposed pact as positive developments. He urged tribal members to educate
themselves.
"We've got to work out our differences," he said.
If the pact is approved by the state Legislature, it will go before Congress.
If it passes, it would be returned to the tribe for approval.
Jeanne Whiteing, attorney for the tribe, said parties to the negotiations
hope to reach an agreement in time to submit it to the Legislature "but if we're
not ready, we're not ready."
Generally speaking, the draft recognizes the extreme scope of the tribe's
senior water rights and its right to develop the water, negotiators said. The
compact also protects existing users off the reservation, who, under state law,
have junior water rights for irrigation, stock and domestic purposes.
The proposed pact is a mechanism for the tribe to get funding from Congress
to develop its water rights, Whiteing said. An example of such development
might be building a water-storage facility. Funding to satisfy water-related
claims for past grievances also is being sought.
Federal reserved water rights already have been settled with tribes on the
Rocky Boy's, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations.
"They have been millions of dollars and certainly we would expect ours to be
in the similar type of range," Whiteing said.
While there is a proposed agreement on the table, sticking points remain,
with one of the biggest involving the St. Mary River. The proposed pact says the
tribe has a right to 50,000 acre-feet of water from the river and its
tributaries.
"We still are having considerable issues with this number," said Doug
Oellermann, of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and part of the federal
negotiating team.
Whiteing noted that water from the St. Mary River is diverted for the Milk
River Project, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project providing irrigation
downstream.
"We hope the U.S. is uncomfortable, because it's their responsibility to
provide water to the tribe where they have neglected to in the past," she said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Karl Puckett at 791-1471, 800-438-6600 or
kpuckettgreatfallstribune.com
By KARL PUCKETT
BROWNING - A proposed pact is on the table that would quantify the Blackfeet
Tribe's federally recognized senior existing water rights on the reservation,
while protecting those who hold junior rights under state law.
It's not a done deal, but negotiators are hoping to have an agreement to the
Montana Legislature for approval before the session ends later this month.
The pact, which is being hammered out by officials with the tribe, state of
Montana and federal agencies, could lead to millions of federal dollars for the
tribe to develop its significant water resources.
Public testimony on the proposal taken during a negotiations session here
Wednesday showed how critical the water at stake is to tribal members and
downstream users of streams and rivers that originate on the reservation. "The
water is one of those things that you just fight over," said Randy Reed,
president of the Paradise Valley Irrigation District.
Reed, one of several people to speak, also praised the work of negotiators,
even though he has concerns with the pact.
"I know it's difficult," he said.
What's being negotiated are rights to flows from the St. Mary, Two Medicine
and Milk rivers and the Birch, Badger and Cut Bank creeks, which combine to
produce about 1.5 million acre feet of water flow a year.
The settlement negotiations are complicated, said Blackfeet Tribal Chairman
Earl Old Person. Sitting before him were no less than 19 attorneys and
staffers with the tribe, state and federal governments.
"It's Greek to most of us," Old Person said.
Historically, water has been sacred to the Blackfeet, he said. Old Person
urged all sides to "be careful what we do" for the sake of future generations.
The trick to reaching a deal is to quantify the tribe's water rights and how
the water would be administered, negotiators said.
"What we need to figure out is what the scope of the rights are," said Jay
Weiner, staff attorney for the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact
Commission, following the nearly four hours of public negotiations and testimony.
For more than 20 years, the state and tribe have been trying to settle the
tribe's federal reserved water rights claims. U.S. governmental agencies also
are involved.
A federal reserved water right is a right to use water that's implied from
federal action. In this case, the right stems from the Treaty of 1855 that
established the Blackfeet Reservation.
A recently proposed compact was the focus of Wednesday's negotiating session
at the tribal offices. About 50 people showed up. A Tuesday public hearing on
the draft pact drew 34 people.
Tribal member Gerald Blevins called for delaying negotiations to allow for
more study and education, particularly on behalf of the public, which he said
hadn't been involved.
"We feel like we've been rushed into this," he said.
Past relations between the Blackfeet and the U.S. government have involved
give and take, said Tom Thompson, who serves on the Blackfeet Water Commission.
"We've given, they've taken," he said.
It's his hope that some of the past wrongs can be made right in the water
pact.
"Our reservation is in dire need of economic development," Thompson said.
Joseph Weatherwax, who works in the Blackfeet Environmental Office, said he
doesn't agree with everything in the proposal but sees the negotiations and
the proposed pact as positive developments. He urged tribal members to educate
themselves.
"We've got to work out our differences," he said.
If the pact is approved by the state Legislature, it will go before Congress.
If it passes, it would be returned to the tribe for approval.
Jeanne Whiteing, attorney for the tribe, said parties to the negotiations
hope to reach an agreement in time to submit it to the Legislature "but if we're
not ready, we're not ready."
Generally speaking, the draft recognizes the extreme scope of the tribe's
senior water rights and its right to develop the water, negotiators said. The
compact also protects existing users off the reservation, who, under state law,
have junior water rights for irrigation, stock and domestic purposes.
The proposed pact is a mechanism for the tribe to get funding from Congress
to develop its water rights, Whiteing said. An example of such development
might be building a water-storage facility. Funding to satisfy water-related
claims for past grievances also is being sought.
Federal reserved water rights already have been settled with tribes on the
Rocky Boy's, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations.
"They have been millions of dollars and certainly we would expect ours to be
in the similar type of range," Whiteing said.
While there is a proposed agreement on the table, sticking points remain,
with one of the biggest involving the St. Mary River. The proposed pact says the
tribe has a right to 50,000 acre-feet of water from the river and its
tributaries.
"We still are having considerable issues with this number," said Doug
Oellermann, of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and part of the federal
negotiating team.
Whiteing noted that water from the St. Mary River is diverted for the Milk
River Project, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project providing irrigation
downstream.
"We hope the U.S. is uncomfortable, because it's their responsibility to
provide water to the tribe where they have neglected to in the past," she said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Karl Puckett at 791-1471, 800-438-6600 or
kpuckettgreatfallstribune.com