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Western Montana Water Users Assoc., Llc V. Mission Irrigation District, David A. Bell
Western Montana Water Users Assoc., Llc V. Mission Irrigation District, David A. Bell
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The Western Montana Water Users challenged the authority of the Flathead Joint Control Board to enter into a Water Use Agreement with Tribal, State, and Federal governments. This procedural challenge alleged that the Joint Control Board, made up of the irrigation districts, did not have the ability under Montana statutes to act for the irrigators without a specific vote of the members and approval from the district court. Two days after receiving the case the Montana Supreme Court reversed, determining that the statutes were inapplicable and the Joint Control Board had authority to enter the agreement.
City Of Livingston V. Park Conservation District, Graham Coppes
City Of Livingston V. Park Conservation District, Graham Coppes
Public Land & Resources Law Review
On appeal from the Park County District Court, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the Park Conservation District’s designation of a channel of the Yellowstone River near the City of Livingston as part of the natural course of the river as reasonable and worthy of judicial deference, even though the record demonstrated that the channel had been continuously used as an irrigation conveyance system and local parties had historically referenced the stream with inconsistent characterizations. Looking ahead, this decision illustrates the Court’s strong deference to the resolutions and statutory interpretations of the state’s local conservation districts. To a lesser degree, the …