Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes related to water rights on the Flathead Reservation.

On Thursday, Fox asked U.S. District Court in Missoula for permission to intervene in the lawsuit that was filed by the tribes in February.

The lawsuit sought in part to prevent the Montana Water Court and state District Court from deciding several water rights claims on the reservation, and a declaration that rights pertaining to water conveyed through the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project belong to the United States and not to local irrigation districts or irrigators.

In a supporting motion and brief, the attorney general’s office is asking the federal District Court to dismiss the tribes’ lawsuit, arguing that the Montana Water Court is the proper venue to decide competing water claims and ultimate ownership of water rights associated with the irrigation project.

“Montana Water Court is the appropriate court for these matters to be heard and decided upon, but only after all parties have exhausted every effort to agree on a negotiated compact,” Fox said. “Bringing these claims to federal court is counterproductive and could derail efforts to reach a negotiated compact.”

There is currently movement for state and tribal representatives to renegotiate a portion of the water rights compact for the tribes.

Earlier this week, the Attorney General’s Office also filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Montana Water Court and the 20th Judicial District Court cases that were brought by interests on the reservation pertaining to the now-defunct Flathead Joint Board of Control.

The briefs ask the Water Court to avoid ruling on water rights until the compact is complete, or when the tribes have filed their water right claims with the Water Court. Fox’s office contends that Water Court, not state district courts, has exclusive jurisdiction over federal and tribal water rights.

Fox expressed hope that water rights issues can be resolved by negotiation rather than litigation.

“We are all Montanans, and we must work to settle this issue by coming together and discussing our shared interests and responsibilities as Montanans,” Fox said. “Ultimately, we need a compact that can pass the state Legislature and Congress.

“I urge all of the stakeholders to spend the coming months focused on constructive, civil dialogue that is informed by facts and not inflamed by rhetoric or expensive litigation.”