As a Montana landowner, I am deeply distressed by the activities of the U.S. Department of the Interior, state of Montana and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Following the unconstitutional passing of the CSKT Water Compact (S.B. 262) into Montana law (currently being litigated in Montana courts), Sen. Jon Tester has proposed federal legislation to ratify the CSKT Water Compact. Tester’s S. 3013 is supposed to “achieve a fair and equitable water rights settlement for the Tribes and allotees,” without ANY regard for non-tribal irrigators, business owners or landowners.

This political document replaces the Montana Water Court with a new, politically unaccountable bureaucratic Flathead Reservation Water Management Board to be composed of tribal and state appointed representatives who do not represent the interests of reservation-based irrigators, business owners and landowners, denying Montanans our federal and state constitutional due process right to a “day in court.”

S. 3013 does not treat non-tribal Montana citizens fairly and equitably. Tribal population comprises approximately 4.9 percent of the statewide population, and only about 3 percent of the Flathead Reservation population! Every page is unconstitutional in accordance with both state and federal constitutions. Tribal off-reservation instream flow rights would effectively eliminate most, if not all state water rights, and is basically legislated racism! Moreover, S. 3013 would authorize the expenditure of approximately $2.328 billion dollars of U.S. taxpayer funds to implement the CSKT Water Compact and Settlement.

Three other bills proceeding through Congress — Sen. Steve Daines’ S. 3014, Ryan Zinke’s H.R. 2647 and Sen. Roberts’ S. 3085 — would provide authority and control to the CSKT and other of the 567 federally recognized tribes to manage instream flow rights in waters flowing through our national forests.

The federal government, through our Montana elected officials, is taking down state authority using tribal governments as conduits to assume jurisdiction over all water, land, and natural resources. —Lauralee O’Neil, Kalispell