Page 24 - Flathead Beacon // 1.28.15

24 | JANUARY 28, 2015 OPINION
LETTERS
COMMISSIONER KRUEGER RESPONDS TO COMPACT COMMENTS
As a commissioner chosen by the electorate of Flathead County to administer the affairs of the county fairly and without prejudice or racism, I must respond to statements attributed to Commissioner Phil Mitchell recently (Jan. 23 FlatheadBeacon.com: “Governor: County Commission ‘Significantly Misunderstands’ Water Compact”). Mr. Mitchell’s statement that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe is not a part of the United States is an embarrassment to me (Commissioner Krueger), Flathead County administration and the employees of Flathead County. Please understand that Mr. Mitchell’s views are not held by Flathead County and his statements were made as an individual and not as a representative of the office of the Flathead County commissioners. Had any county employee while administering Flathead County business made those derogatory statements the employee would face serious disciplinary action. As commissioners we must hold ourselves to the highest of ethical standards. I cannot stress enough the outrage I have for Mr. Mitchell’s misrepresentation of Flathead County. As a member of the Flathead County Commission, I apologize to those offended, and ask that misjudgment on the part of Mr. Mitchell not become the lens Flathead County, its officials and employees are viewed through.
Gary Krueger Flathead County commissioner
WATER COMPACT IS GOOD FOR MONTANA
Opponents of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Water Compact have such a weak case that they decided to hire an out-of-state consultant for some fresh ideas. The problem is, so far, their consultant has shown a complete lack of understanding of water law and Montana water rights. She is trying to make the case that the Tribes have no water rights off the Flathead Reservation. That argument is has been made before in Stevens Treaty litigation and lost every time.
In 1980, the 9th Circuit Court found that if a Tribes’ treaty rights include the right to fish at usual and accustomed places, this includes a right to protect instream flows for fish. The Montana Supreme Court has found that tribal fishing rights include protection from depletion of streams below a minimum flow needed by fish.
Creation of a reservation does not abrogate rights to hunt and fish off the
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reservation. The compact does not give the Tribes any new rights, nor does it take anyone’s existing rights. Montana, under the compact does not “cede” anything to the Tribes. In fact, the exact opposite is true. The Tribes are agreeing to give up nearly all of their existing rights off the Flathead Reservation forever in order to secure a better water rights system on the reservation.
Under the Montana Water Use Act, tribes have until June 30, 2015 to come to an equitable agreement with the state and federal government to quantify their water rights. If the compact fails to be ratified by the Montana Legislature, the Tribes have no alternative but to quantify their rights through legal action. This is not a scare tactic, this is reality. This compact is the 18th and final reserved water rights agreement to be negotiated by the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission. Some believe that Indian tribes should have no rights at all in Montana, but this negotiated agreement is good for water, good for water users, good for fish and good for Montana.
LaVerne Sultz Kalispell
‘NEW’ WATER COMPACT EQUALS OLD COMPACT
Having briefly reviewed the “new compact,” I believe that it is no more than a wordsmithed version of the old compact with no substantive changes.
It still:
• Grants the CSKT the Flathead Project water right.
• Does not quantify the Project irrigator’s historic water use or the Tribes’ federal reserved right.
• Creates a law of administration that is different than the rest of the state, thus denying fee landowners equal protection under the law.
The Compact Commission has refused to meet with the duly elected representatives of the Flathead Project irrigators, the Flathead Joint Board of Control, a local government under Montana statutes, to even discuss the irrigator’s issues. Commissioners were told that our water right issue and our concerns with the unitary management ordinance were non-negotiable.
In response to the state’s refusal to even discuss our grievances, the Joint Board of Control passed a resolution stating that it could not support the compact and recommended as an alternative that the Montana Water Court adjudicate all water rights in a normal stream adjudication process.
The economic impact of this compact will reduce land values and income for everyone, including compact proponents, since it is a transfer of wealth from taxpaying fee landowners to the Tribal Government.
Due to the heavy-handed way in which this compact was developed, there
are large tears in the social fabric of our communities. These will only worsen if this compact is passed. I predict that the passage of this unprecedented compact will unleash a storm of litigation never before seen in Montana due to the egregious, unconstitutional nature of the issues I have enumerated above. I urge the fee landowners and legislators to oppose this compact.
Jerry Laskody St. Ignatius
I am writing to comment on the letter from Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition regarding the proposed East Reservoir logging project. Approved last month, the Forest Service plan calls for the logging of 8,800 acres on the east side of Lake Koocanusa. The Stakeholders are unhappy with Alliance for the Wild Rockies, which is suing the Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife for failing to adequately address the protection of bull trout, white sturgeon, Canada lynx and grizzly bear species native to the impacted area.
The Stakeholders contend that the plan enjoys widespread support, including “a slate of regional and statewide conservation groups.” What their letter doesn’t address is the substance of AWR’s lawsuit. I’m guessing that absent from this “slate” are groups concerned about protection of threatened and endangered species.
The self-serving letter chastises AWR for failing to play ball with the representatives from industry, government, and “conservation” organizations who support the plan, and for choosing the courts as a forum for challenging it.
At best it’s clear that the Stakeholders do not adequately represent the interests of many conservation and environmental organizations. What’s more likely is that they are a bit too eager to push logging projects to be a truly balanced and broad based coalition.
This organization may claim to speak for all forest stakeholders, but skepticism is clearly in order here. After all, the “group” that supports the Montanore Mine was formed and is run by company employees and consultants. Fortunately they were publicly shamed years ago and have zero credibility.
As for the courts, sometimes they are the only option for holding government officials accountable. AWR is fond of saying that if the agencies want to stop being sued, they should quit breaking the law. It’s hard to find fault with this argument.
Joel Frank Bigfork
COALITION DOESN’T REPRESENT CONSERVATIONISTS
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CORRECTIONS
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