“Cryptic messages hinting at possible threats do raise questions in general, but that’s a tactic that’s pretty familiar at this point with the Compact,” said Robert McDonald.
2:06
The CSKT Tribal Council unanimously approved a resolution ratifying the compact, making it official following its passage through Congress last week.
“We have several years to implement this, and we have a lot of work to do with the rebuilding of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project and the assumption of the National Bison Range,” CSKT Chairwoman Shelly Fyant said.
Under the compact, the federal government will provide the tribes with $90 million annually over the next 10 years to rebuild the Flathead Irrigation Project. Congress will eventually need to pass additional appropriation bills to allocate the remainder of the $1.9 billion earmarked for the project. That funding is in exchange for the tribes relinquishing a majority of their water rights claims.