Farm406

farm406 24 ater rights in Montana are and have been a contentious topic. Court cases have been tried since territorial days over who gets the water that is needed by everyone involved. Water Judge Loble (tenure 1990-2013) once noted, "Water is a 'flammable substance' in Montana." From the late nineteenth through the twentieth century, the state needed an effective water rights system. Wading into the business of water rights, the Montana Territorial Legislature enacted legislation for surface water by indicating it could be diverted only for "beneficial use"—a law remaining today. e Territorial Supreme Court established water rights through two options: e first guideline was called "use rights," which indicated that surface water was used at a site. "Use rights" required no filing. Approximately 67 percent of the water rights filed in Montana's statewide adjudication today are "use" rights. Because of the lack of documentation, dissension oen called for litigation in district courts, which was the second option. en the Territorial Legislature adopted a provision known as a "filed right," which called for posting a notice at the diversion point and filing a leer with the county clerk. Both "use rights" and "filed rights" were regularly abused. Even when a "decreed right" was adjudicated by a district court, confusion continued, mainly because many water rights remained poorly defined. Other claims on water exist, such as Murphy Rights, Public Recreation Claims, Statements of Claim for Fish and Wildlife Use, Federal and Indian Reserved Rights, and storage, but are too detailed for this overview. Over the years, record keeping of "filed rights" created huge problems because the 87 watersheds in the state were located in numerous counties and had many district court decrees, thus creating situations where information was conflicting or recorded in unlikely places. Some records were lost due to courthouse fires. As a result, watersheds oen became "oversubscribed," meaning that water users claimed the right to more water than flowed in the stream. Between 1889, when Montana became a state, and 1972, water rights became even more contentious. e legislature aempted to pass water rights legislation, but enforcement was oen ignored. To cause even more dissension, the district courts did not have jurisdiction over federal or tribal interests, resulting in federal and state court decrees. One of the first events to Montana's Water Court's Role in Adjudicating Water Rights By Suzanne Waring | Photos Provided by the Department of Natural Resources W The 1972 Constitution stated that the State of Montana owned the water in the state on behalf of its citizens.

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