Note: this letter to the editor about Flathead Lake levels is right on target, and is too good to not share via its own post. It was written by Mark Agather out of Kalispell and published in today’s Daily Interlake at this link.
Politics of lake draw down
It is not surprising or should not be. The draw down of Flathead Lake by Energy Keepers Inc. is irritating and downright disgusting, but it is the inevitable result of the disastrous passage of the CSKT Water Compact. Even though our water levels, while low this year, are well within normal, the draw down is just the start of CSKT flexing their political muscle.
Most people have faith they are immune to the effects of the water compact believing it only affects water inside of reservation borders, which is not true. The compact gives CSKT and the federal government control of most of the water flowing out of the western side of Montana, or in effect, virtually all the Clark Fork and Kootenai River water basins. If you thought your well, your lake water rights, your docks and/or your boating privileges were exempt, you are wrong.
These facts have not been reported by our press to the general public. In fact, right now there are almost 1,100 people or entities which are going through the process to end up in front of the water court to challenge the legitimacy of the compact. If enough negative evidence is presented, the water court can (and should) declare the compact null and void. We still have a chance!
Even though it is too late to formally object to this unprecedented taking, you can help in this fight by becoming educated about this abomination by visiting the Western Montana Water Rights website. Secondly, you can find out people you may know who are formally challenging the compact and help them fund the costs of their attorneys.
Third, you can inform other people of the devastating effects of this tragic piece of legislation.
Finally, you can contact U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester who, in effect, sold Montana down the road and ask them to admit they made a mistake and ask them to work to correct it.
The passage of the water compact, motivated by fear of lawsuits and lots of political lobbying, was just plain flat wrong. The draw down of Flathead Lake for the first time in memory is just the start. It will get much worse in future years and decades to come. It is time to do your studies and become involved. In fact, it is well past time.
— Mark Agather, Kalispell
Western Montana Water Rights 
Such a spot-on letter. Thank you for sharing and thanks for this BlogSite. I was aware of the problems before, but was admittedly ignorant to the depth of the water right claims and minimum flows within the Compact until digging further. I knew that the 2015 relicensing failed to negotiate anything regarding retaining water levels in Flathead Lake, and was waiting for this to occur. Once Energy Keepers started to PR and gaslight the ‘climate change’ and ‘low water availability’ stuff I knew the game was afoot.
They should have never pushed so much water above the Water Right minimums in mid-May if they knew the supply was so low…but now reading the water right in detail, there’s no requirement to do anything.
All of the energy that Energy Keepers sold to Puget Sound Utility should offset any attorney’s fees and $$ loss as a result of this fiasco.
https://www.nativebusinessmag.com/energy-keepers-inc-starts-selling-hydroelectric-power-to-washington-utility/
Stay vigilant.
From our friend Christopher:
NOBEL LAUREATE: “CLIMATE SCIENCE HAS METASTASIZED INTO MASSIVE SHOCK-JOURNALISTIC PSEUDOSCIENCE”
https://gript.ie/nobel-laureate-climate-science-has-metastasized-into-massive-shock-journalistic-pseudoscience/
………According to Dr. Clauser, “The popular narrative about climate change reflects a dangerous corruption of science that threatens the world’s economy and the well-being of billions of people.
“Misguided climate science has metastasized into massive shock-journalistic pseudoscience. In turn, the pseudoscience has become a scapegoat for a wide variety of other unrelated ills. It has been promoted and extended by similarly misguided business marketing agents, politicians, journalists, government agencies, and environmentalists.”
“In my opinion, there is no real climate crisis. There is, however, a very real problem with providing a decent standard of living to the world’s expanding population, especially given an associated energy crisis. The latter is being unnecessarily exacerbated by what, in my opinion, is incorrect climate science,” he said.
However, the 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calls for countries to ramp up their pledges to lower greenhouse gas emissions enough to reduce global emissions by 60 percent by 2035.
Note: Nothing like bureaucrats creating a worldwide economic crisis in the name of “climate change”, and then blaming the effect of their policies on “climate change.”
Seems to be exactly what is happening with the Compact and Flathead Lake levels right now. Let us not disconnect one from the other.