Op-ed from the Flathead Joint Board of Control

FLATHEAD JOINT BOARD OF CONTROL for the

FLATHEAD, MISSION AND JOCKO IRRIGATION DISTRICTS

P.O. Box 639

St. Ignatius, Mt 59865

(406) 745-2090

Fax: (406) 745-3090

March 6, 2015

Good Afternoon Irrigators and Interested Public,

Enclosed you will find the report prepared for the FJBC by Barry Dutton regarding our historic use of water within the Flathead Irrigation Project. As you will note, these data corroborate the data I have presented on our ranch's historic use and the water volume historically delivered within the Project is significantly greater than what we can discern from the latest compact proposal.

Please share this information with your fellow irrigators and encourage them to support the FJBC's position against passage of the CSKT Water Compact. Please know that the FJBC is doing everything within its power to defeat the Compact in the present legislative session. All of us can do something to help the Board. Contact the legislators on the House Judiciary Committee and ask them to vote "NO" on SB 262 and give them the reasons why. The taking of our water right, the reduced water delivery, the elimination of state administration of water in our region of the State, and the lack of participation allowed your elected representatives on the Flathead Joint Board of Control are among the many reasons to "...just say NO!" to the Compact.

I would ask Johanna to put this message out to the Board's mailing list over my signature so as to encourage all irrigators to support our position in the Legislators. We cannot compete with the vast amount of money (estimated as near $2 million) the CSKT and their supporters are spending on promoting the Compact. But every irrigator can spread the truth about this egregious proposal and encourage the Legislature to oppose it. We also need as many people as possible to go to Helena for the hearings and whether you get to testify or not, your presence there helps our position as the legislators" count noses". A generous patron is underwriting the most of cost of bus transportation to the hearing and wants us to charge $10 per seat for the trip to Helena on a deluxe bus with a bathroom. Consider availing yourself of that opportunity.

Finally, the Good Lord has blessed this valley with an abundance of water and there is more than enough to share for beneficial uses. Recall we have never denied the Tribe's federal reserved water right. We, the successors in ownership to our lands, however were promised water for irrigation. We, who for over a hundred years, have used that water beneficially, are merely defending our right to our historical use. Your elected representatives on the Flathead Joint Board of Control are committed to defending that right so that future generations can continue the agricultural operations that were built on the labor and sacrifice of those who came before us. We are only as strong as the support we receive from Project irrigators and other members of the community who are economically sustained by the agricultural economy of the Mission Valley. The FJBC asks for your prayers and your continued support as we defend our collective rights in this struggle.

Sincerely,

FJBC ChairmanJerry Laskody