THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON
NOV 1 8 2019
The Honorable Steve Daines
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Daines:
have received your correspondence regarding the proposed settlement of the reserved water
right claims of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT or Tribes). Although I did
not participate in the negotiation of this proposed settlement, I have evaluated the matter. In
sharing my perspective, it may be useful to know that I have been involved with the negotiation
and approval of other water rights settlements over the last two and a half decades.
I understand that following nearly a decade of negotiations, negotiators for the Tribes, the State
of Montana (State), and the United States submitted to their respective principals a proposed
settlement of the Tribes? reserved water right claims known as the CSKT Water Rights Compact
or CSKT Compact. The Compact, approved by the Montana legislature in 2015, is currently
proceeding through the appropriate Federal review and approval processes.
