Wilderness
proposal pits irrigators, environmentalists
MAY
5, 2006 | A proposal by Montana Senator Conrad Burns to allow
irrigators free access to dams
which control their water, but which are located in wilderness areas,
has
fostered a lively debate in Montana.
His plan would allow irrigators with dams in wilderness, mainly in the
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the western part of the state, a right
of way
to those dams, on which they could drive motor vehicles. There would be
no charge for the right of way. The total amount of corridor access is
estimated as less than 100 miles.
Irrigators said that when the Selway-Bitterroot was given wilderness
status, they were told they would be able to have access to maintain
the dams, which are prone to wear and could cause damage without
periodic attention. Environmental organizations expressed concern about
motorized access into wilderness, ordinarily strictly
prohibited.
Reserved rights
worked through
APRIL
4, 2006 | The
nature and extent of federal reserved water rights on national forest
lands in Montana was hashed over in early April at a meeting of the Montana Reserved
Water Rights Compact Commission.
An opinion
piece in the Helena Independent Record
suggests that "Curiously, the state's negotiators on the commission
appear reluctant to recognize any legal ability in the Forest Service
to protect these public resources beyond a few paltry tools granted by
(and revocable by) Congress. And they're playing hardball, forcing the
Forest Service to navigate technical and legal knotholes in order to
justify the seemingly common sense conclusion that to be healthy the
public's streams, fisheries and natural areas need water.
In other states, federal reserved water rights have been accepted and
approved in court decisions. Generally, federal agencies have a
presumed or "reserved" right to enough water to carry out their
principle stated purposes under the law.
The results of the negotiations are expected to go to the Montana
Legislature in 2007.
Clark
Fork restoration okayed
DECEMBER
18, 2006 | Montana
Governor Brian Schweitzer has approved funding for seven restoration
projects in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin for a total of
approximately $7.4 million in 2006 and $1.1 million in 2007. The seven
projects approved for funding, subject to certain conditions, are:
· $1,845,500 over two years to the Greenway Service District
for the Silver Bow Creek Greenway project.
· $876,162 to the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited
for the German Gulch Watershed Restoration project.
· $1,539,269 to Butte-Silver Bow for the Year 5 of the Butte
Waterline project.
· $1,738,700 to Anaconda-Deer Lodge City/County for Year 4
of the Anaconda Waterline project.
· $667,642 to Butte-Silver Bow City/County for the Big Butte
Property Acquisition.
· $1,643,809 to the Greenway Service District for the Duhame
Property Acquisition.
· $174,634 to Butte-Silver Bow City/County for the Butte
Master Plan project.
Funding comes from the partial settlement of a lawsuit brought by the
state in 1983 to recover damages to natural resources caused by decades
of mining and smelting in the Butte-Anaconda area. The state sued the
Atlantic Richfield Co. in 1983 and settled several portions of the
lawsuit in 1999, receiving $215 million. About $130 million of that is
earmarked to restore the injured natural resources in the Upper Clark
Fork River Basin between Butte and Milltown Dam near Missoula.
The state has developed guidelines for spending the funds, outlining a
process in which governmental and private entities and individuals can
submit grant proposals for restoration projects. The Natural Resource
Damage Program, which is part of the Montana Department of Justice,
administers the grant process. This is the sixth year for the grant
program. With this year's approved projects, a total of 49 projects
have been approved for about $36.4 million.
Successful grant recipients will enter into contracts with the state
Natural Resource Damage Program to implement the projects. Applications
for next year's grant cycle will be available in early January and are
due in early March.
Source: Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer Contact: Sarah Elliott
406-444-9725.
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