Ravalli County Commission wants to talk to F.S. chief about water rights

The Ravalli County commissioners have invited U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell to Hamilton to talk about his agency’s plan to acquire in-stream water rights on 11 streams on the Bitterroot National Forest. The commission made that unanimous decision this week after learning that their objection to the agency’s request to acquire water rights on two streams had been denied. The Bitterroot National Forest is working through a process outlined under a 2007 water rights compact between the state of Montana and the Forest Service, which allows the agency to file for in-stream water rights on national forest lands. Under the terms of the compact, the in-stream flow rights are junior to any other water right claimed on the stream. The claims stop at the national forest boundary and are non-consumptive. The Bitterroot Forest has completed the process on five streams and plans to file on an additional 11 others, including Blodgett and Laird. The commission objected to both the process and allocation of water.  The commission’s objection said the Forest Service should not be able to receive a new water right at a time when other entities could not do the same because the Bitterroot basin is closed to new water rights. It also claimed the agency was seeking more water in Blodgett Creek than what is available during most of the year. A federal water gauge on that stream that operated between 1947 and 1969 indicated the flow was less than 20 cubic feet per second up to seven months of the year. The agency was seeking 31 cfs...more