Big Horn River water dispute (homes, buying, live)

[CptnRn]

In one of my web searches I came across this 2007 news article about the water dispute between Wyoming and Montana.

Drought fuels battle where dam, river meet - Weather- msnbc.com

Does anyone know, how that turned out?

Here is another 2007 article about it http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/ar...ghornriver.htm

[sunsprit]

IIRC, a federal water court magistrate ruled on this in favor of Montana in 2008.

Wyoming is getting the short end of the stick from the fed on water issues with adjacent or downstream states. The recent drought years have left Wyoming without the functional water to deliver per the interstate water compacts, but the language of them doesn't make any allowance for reduced water delivery if it isn't there to begin with. For the most part, Wyoming's water is oversubscribed and cannot be delivered even in a good moisture year, and the fed knows it ... but now they're proposing fines all the way down to the level of water users in Wyoming for "stealing" the water that should have been delivered to adjacent states.

[BennyPhoenix]

Yet another reason for wyoming to declare sovereignty and more if necessary.

[mtlogger]

All the years I lived there - nothing much has changed. Everyone owns Wyoming water except Wyoming. For a while Kalis & New Yaaak's were buying up the rights. Even if you have a well on homesteaded land, it still might be bought. The water board goes nutzo everytime there's a case like ours. Seems like there's a vendetta against the state.

IMHO- I believe the dam should be removed and the river returned to it's free flowing nature. Efforts to control water in other states have proved deterimental to the land, the fish and the animals. Take for instance the Kissimmi River in Florida - now being restored. If the Wyoming Legislature was smart, it would negate all the water compacts and start all over again.

[CptnRn]

That sucks, I remember hauling hay in that area as a teenager. Numerous farmers gave up excellent farming land in the area for that reservoir, with promises of what a great recreational lake it was going to be, attracting enormous amounts of tourist dollars to the area. It is very disappointing that the promises have not been kept.