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between 1 and 5% ofthe streamflow (Mont. Code Ann. ~ 85-20-401, Art. III, Sec. C. G.). The consumptive use buffer includes existing water rights and an increment for future water development. Further, the compact subordinates the federal right--whose priority goes back to 1872 for Yellowstone and 1910 for Glacier--to existing uses as of 1993, the date of the compact (Mont. Code Ann. S 85-20-401, Art. III, Sec. C. G.). The consumptive buffer, as defined here, is essentially a reservation of water for present and estimated future development. One stream in Yellowstone National Park called for special attention. The federally reserved water right for Soda Butte Creek consisted of an upside-down instream flow water right for peak flow protection, minus a 5% development buffer (similar to other streams in the park), and a conventional instream flow water right for base flow protection (Amman et al. 1995). The base flow component was not subordinated to most existing uses, retaining its 1872 priority date, thereby leaving open the possibility of a conflict with existing water users during low flow months. Fortunately, the existing water use in the basin occurs mainly in high flow months, minimizing the potential conflict. As part of the first compact, the NPS and the State of Montana negotiated a similar settlement for the waters of the Big Hole National Battlefield but with a few different features. The parties agreed to split the right seasonally so that a conventional constant instream flow water right of 10 cfs was established in the wintertime, while the summer right was quantified as all the flows of the creek minus 5% to accommodate existing and future water development (Mont. Code Ann. ~ 85-20-401, Art. III, Sec. A(3)). Because the creek is currently appropriated beyond the 5%, the agreement effectively prohibits future development by dedicating all the unappropriated water to instream flow (C. Pettee, personal communication). At the Big Horn Canyon National Recreation Area, the NPS made no claim to a reserved right for the water in the reservoir at the recreation area, but did establish an upside-down instream flow water right for the tributaries feeding the reservoir (Mont. Code Ann. ~ 85-20-401, Art. III, Sec. B). At the Little Big Horn National Monument, the NPS made the decision to quantify a conventional instream flow water right for both base and peak flows and not to subordinate its 1946 priority date (Mont. Code Ann. S 85-20- 401, Art. III, Sec. E). This decision may have clarified the amount of peak flows left for development by Indian interests in a proposed reservoir upstream (C. Pettee, personal communication). National Parks v. National Forests. A Colorado water judge confirmed a federal reserved right for all the unappropriated flows on the eastside of Rocky Mountain National Park, without subordinating its senior priority date (Decision, December 29, 1993, Case No. W-8439-76, Water Division 1). This state court found that the purpose of a natural park was "the preservation of the natural conditions and scenic beauties" so as to leave them unimpaired for future generations, and that this purpose could be met only by reserving all of the water within the park that was unappropriated on the date that the park was established. The court implied that all unappropriated, natural flows was the 11