Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 1.7.15

26 | JANUARY 7, 2015
LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
Restore SRS Funds
THIS WEEK, MONTANA’S NEW U.S. SENATOR, former Congressman Steve Daines, and new U.S. congressman, former state senator and Whitefish native Ryan Zinke, were sworn into office. They enter the 114th Congress, where their Republican Party has secured a majority in both chambers for the first time in eight years. Their first priority: Keystone XL pipeline.
In a joint press release, Daines and Zinke said, “mov- ing forward legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline will be their top priority in the new year.” A decision on the pipeline has been delayed for years, which has been blamed on a number of factors, including litigation in Nebraska. But anymore the delay can mostly be attributed to foot-dragging by the State Department.
Once completed, the pipeline would transport oil from Alberta across the northeastern edge of Montana all the way to Texas. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc- Connell thinks he has the votes, from both Republicans and Democrats, to advance legislation backing its con- struction. But it may not matter.
President Barack Obama has become increasingly cold to the pipeline and suggested to reporters at a press con- ference last month that it would create few American jobs. “It’s very good for Canadian oil companies, and it’s good for the Canadian oil industry,” he said. “But it’s not going to be a huge benefit to U.S. consumers. It’s not even going to be a nominal benefit to U.S. consumers.”
So what happens if the president kills the project? What’s next? Well, legislation that matters far more lo- cally, superseding the pipeline in importance, is extending the Secure Rural Schools Act. Daines has already urged “quick renewal” of SRS funds. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has attempted to fully fund the initiative. I’m assuming Zinke will also be on board.
Last year, Flathead County received $1.6 million in SRS funding, the majority of which was used by the county’s road department, which relies on it for about one-eighth of its budget. While Flathead appears to have other funds it could tap to cover the costs, Lincoln County could be in real trouble.
Lincoln County commissioners predict that, unless SRS funds are restored, the government could essentially go broke. Or, in words of Commissioner Tony Berget: “Ei- ther they have to start logging again so we can get the 25 percent, or we’re just going belly up, we’re going under.”
SRS funds are used to supplement coffers in counties across the country that contain federal land within their borders. Before the program, counties and schools re- ceived 25 percent of revenues generated from timber sales on national forests, but those revenues dwindled along with the logging industry. Lincoln’s last SRS payment was $3 million and, even after making deep spending cuts, Ber- get said the county is “hemorrhaging money.”
Lest the program be viewed as a handout, Lincoln County is more than 76 percent federal land, from which it receives no property taxes. The SRS funds offset what was once made from logging and allows the county to provide basic services.
This isn’t the first time SRS funds have been left in limbo. As Flathead County administrator said Mike Pence said in a recent interview, the legislation is often delayed before being attached to various bills.
Maybe, this year Congress can try something new. Maybe, this year as its first order of business it can pass SRS funding so rural municipalities surrounded by fed- eral land can sleep a little better. Maybe, after that, the in- coming Congress can move on to the rest of its to-do list, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, immigration reform and Obamacare.
It’s a nice thought, but timber counties are likely to sweat a bit more before that happens.
OPINION FLATHEADBEACON.COM
TWO FOR THOUGHT
Same Topics, Different Views
By Joe Carbonari
At the funeral for the first of the two NYPD of- ficers assassinated while they sat in their car, their fellow officers turned their backs when New York’s mayor began to speak. A few days later several of- ficers did the same at the second officer’s funeral, where the mayor spoke again.
Apparently many police in New York, and re- portedly elsewhere, feel that they are insufficient- ly appreciated, that their dangers and stresses are unrecognized, and that they are not sufficiently supported by their elected officials. To some ex- tent that is likely so. Few civilians have walked a mile in their shoes.
The man who shot, unprovoked and point blank, the NYPD officers was black and reported- ly felt that the “system” was stacked against him, racially and economically. He wanted to make a statement – to bring attention to his perceived in- justices. His actions were wrong, unacceptable.
The officers who turned their backs were also wrong, but they should be heard. Their actions suggest a very deep divide that badly needs bridg- ing. They exacerbated an already sensitive situa- tion and strengthened a we-versus-them mental- ity. It did not foster understanding.
Order cannot be maintained, over time, at the point of a gun. It must be bought into, voluntarily. Mutual respect is necessary. It is a way of think- ing. It cannot be ordered, but it can be fostered. Informal contact helps. Get to know your local police.
By Tim Baldwin
In protest, many NYPD officers turned their backs on New York City’s mayor as he gave a eulo- gy at an officer’s funeral last Sunday. A retired NY detective justified their protest, declaring, “This mayor has no respect for us. Why should we have respect for him?” Interestingly, perceiving “no respect” from government authority is the same reason citizens protest police.
When police show no respect for citizens, citizens demonstrate their protest by, e.g., not complying with what strikes them as unlawful or abusive orders. Invariably, police arrest and pros- ecutors prosecute these people with criminal ac- tion. The difference between police and average citizens is that the citizen has little or no power to rebuff government power – in the street or court.
When the matter goes to court, judges and juries typically believe officers over the citizen. Evidence becomes meaningless for justice. When citizens try to demonstrate the unlawfulness of the arrest, search or abuse of the police, the judge excludes it from the jury or the citizen has no re- sources to present the defense. Thus, citizens are unable to derail the abusive train. Unfortunately, many politicians are uninterested in legislation to remedy systemic misconduct.
A logical question follows: if police see the justice in publically opposing their mayor be- cause he “disrespected” them, how much more are citizens justified in opposing a police system that threatens their liberty?
Mutual Respect
GUESTCOLUMN | VerdellJackson
CSKT Compact Creates Water Market
Absolute control of surface and ground water for irrigation both on and off the Flathead Indian Reservation Tribe in western Montana appears to be the goal of the CSKT Compact, which affects 350,000 people in 11 counties. Although not specifi- cally written into Indian treaties, judges have ruled that water is needed to make land productive in or- der to fulfill the purposes of any federal reservation of land. Therefore Indian reservations are entitled to “federal reserved water rights” to meet the pur- poses of their reservations which in most cases are for agriculture as emphasized in the Hell Gate Trea- ty. The water is to make the reserved land produc- tive. It is not a legitimate purpose of the Reservation to develop a water market and lease the water that is supposed to go with the reservation land to make it productive, especially to people who have lost their access to water because of the Compact.
The Flathead Reservation was opened to settle- ment in 1909 by Presidential Proclamation with the promise that the federal government would plan and fund the construction of the Flathead Irrigation Project (FIP), along with Kerr Dam to serve all in- terests, Indian and non-Indian alike. Approximate- ly 128,000 acres of land on the reservation are irri- gated with 500,000 to 750,000 acre feet of water out of the Mission Mountains supplemented with some water out of the Flathead River.
The reservation is presently very productive with most of the irrigable land being farmed pro- ducing cattle, feed crops and vegetables. If more ir- rigable land could be identified that is not being ir-
rigated, additional water can be obtained by quan- tifying (justifying) an amount based on historical irrigation data.
Instead of going through this process to ex- pand the number of acres irrigated and increase the amount of irrigation water made available on the reservation, the Compact gave the state based water rights of the irrigators to the Tribe in return for a water allowance of 1.4 acre feet per acre for a total of 179,000 acre feet with no assurance that the water would be passed to heirs with the land.
Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox supposedly came to the aid of the irrigators and replaced the water right with a water delivery right. Also, Montana taxpayers will give $30 million to pump water and the compact will save you years of expensive litigation. This seems like great news to short-sighted people who do not value property rights; however, the Tribe has been given the state based water rights in the Compact and they are in control of the amount of water irrigators get in the future. Also, the project loses most of its water via the 1.4af per acre water allowances. Only 179,000af is available and the remainder of the historical use goes to in-stream flow: about 321,000af in wet years and 571,000af in dry years. Tribal control of water both on and off the reservation creates their water market. Adjudication by the Montana Water Court (not litigation as threatened) is where the State of Montana has an obligation to defend and protect state based water rights.
Verdell Jackson is a former Kalispell state senator.