Bean Lake III Decision: The Implications

• Description: RICD
• State: CO
• State: MT
• Date: 1/1/3000
• Author: Montana DNRC
• Title: Bean Lake III Decision: The Implications
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: News Article/Press Release

The potential impacts that result from this decision are summarized below.
Claim Type
Total Claims
Total Claims
220,000+
Purpose = Fish, Wildlife or Recreation
13,415
Physical Means of Diversion or Impoundment
9,185
No Physical Means of Diversion or Impoundment
4,230
Direct From Source Wildlife
3,510
BLM
3,270
Other " Instream Flow"
720
Private
422
Federal
145
State
153
Board of Land Commissioners
2
DFWP
151
Murphy Rights
106
Other DFWP
45
Of the total 220,000+ claims that were filed statewide, 13,415 claimed some type of
fish, wildlife, or recreational purpose. Of those, 9,185 identified some type of physical
diversion, impoundment, or capture of the water, such as by dams or ditches or
pipelines. Most of the remaining 4,230 claims have not yet been examined by the
DNRC. Often, examination of these claims and further discussions with the
claimants reveals that there was some physical manipulation of the water, such as a
spring development, dam, or excavation that was not reported on the original claim
form. Therefore, number of actual "instream flow" claims will eventually be less than
4,000.
In fact, 3,510 of those 4,230 claims identify wildlife drinking "directly from source" and
may be overlapping with instream livestock watering rights. Most of these were filed
by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in north central and northeastern
Montana for water out of small pits and some natural potholes. That leaves a total of
720 claims that may be equated as "typical" for instream flows or inlake water levels.
Four hundred twenty -two of the 720 real instream flow claims were filed by private
parties, which are questionable because language in the statutes as well Bean Lake
111 decision appears to limit who could file these types of water right claims to the
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (DFWP), and possibly federal
agencies. That leaves 298 government instream and inlake claims, of which 106 are
based on the "Murphy Rights" established by the legislature in the late 1960s.
If you recall, Murphy Rights are the water rights created by the Legislature with early -
1970's priority dates to protect in- stream flows for fisheries on twelve of Montana's
most pristine blue ribbon rivers. Those twelve streams being Big Spring and Rock
Creeks, the Blackfoot, Gallatin, Madison, Smith, Upper Missouri, Upper Yellowstone,
and Flathead Rivers, and the North, South and Middle Forks of the Flathead.