TRIBES SPEND
MILLIONS ON HIGH POWERED PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN ENGINEERED BY AN EXPENSIVE DC
LOBBYING AGENCY TO SUPPORT A MONTANA WATER COMPACT BEING HEAVILY OPPOSED BY
PRIVATE WATER RIGHT OWNERS.
February
8, 2015—-by Fred Kelly Grant, Chairman of Board and CEO Stand and Fight Club
Inc.
Many historically
significant battlefields are visited annually in Montana. Today, another
historic battle is being fought over water, and the battle field is the Montana
statehouse. A water compact between the United States, the state of Montana
and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will award even off reservation
water rights to the Tribes. Some opponents of the Compact say that the Tribes
will be given the right to direct distribution of water even off reservation. A
reading of the convoluted 1600 page compact seems to support their
belief.
It would be a big
mistake for owners of private water rights outside the state of Montana to
overlook the importance of this hotly contested water issue. If successful in
their efforts, legislative supporters of the compact will create a pattern that
will endanger private rights wherever private, Tribal and federal water
interests collide.
Private property
owners throughout the state have voiced strong objections to the compact
sponsored by a senator who formerly opposed the compact concept. In an email
exchange with a constituent, the sponsor explains that after “several hundred
hours” of study, he sees the wisdom in negotiating the off-reservation Tribal
rights. But so far, I haven’t been able to detect significant changes in the
compact that would protect private water rights, and there is no explanation by
supporters of where those changes are located in the
document.
One worry I would
have as a Montanan would be the extensive immunity from liability the producers
of the compact and the bill to implement it give themselves. I don’t believe in
50 years in the business, I have ever seen such an all-out, all inclusive effort
by drafters and supporters to give themselves immunity. I would always worry if
a proponent of a legislative or administrative act says: “What we are doing is
straight legal and constitutional, but if that isn’t clear, we want it
absolutely clear that we are not responsible for the unconstitutionality and we
want it even clearer that we are immune from liability for creating an
unconstitutional taking.”
Unsatisfied with
the sponsor’s answer to him, the constituent from Troy Montana made this
statement:
Our corporate
attorney for several decades has passed
away, but I still remember one of his favorite statements that fits many
situations – He said every negotiation, no matter what it was in regards
to, ended by answering the question of Who Gets What? Since well over 2
million dollars has been spent for advertising to attempt to convince the
people to accept this compact, who is paying that and what do they get?
Many people of influence have changed their mind after meeting with the
tribes or the feds or both, all of which begs the question – Who Gets What?
away, but I still remember one of his favorite statements that fits many
situations – He said every negotiation, no matter what it was in regards
to, ended by answering the question of Who Gets What? Since well over 2
million dollars has been spent for advertising to attempt to convince the
people to accept this compact, who is paying that and what do they get?
Many people of influence have changed their mind after meeting with the
tribes or the feds or both, all of which begs the question – Who Gets What?
One thing that is
clear here is that we do know that high-power DC lobbying, public relations
company, Mercury, is getting $1 million dollars to run the campaign to persuade
the legislators to vote “yes” and to persuade the Montana citizenry that
everything is kosher about a “yes” vote. And, we know that the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes entered into the contract to pay the million to
Mercury. In addition, they have set aside another $1.8 million dollars for
other unspecified public events (to be run by Mercury, one wonders?) . . . . . .
. . . . . .
“Wake up, Montana, before
special interests; Uncle Sam and/or the Salish Kootenai buy enough advertising
to convince your legislator to capitulate to their demands. Make no
mistake—they want it all. and too many people we have sent to Helena seem
willing to help them get it. The U.S. Justice Department has never backed off
from representing tribal interests on the reservations—now the Compact opens the
door to a whole new playing field. It makes perfect sense for the federal
government to ante up 1.2 billion dollars if it can buy them the ability to see
that control of water in the entire Clark Fork Basin is placed within their
grasp as custodians of tribal interests. Water is today’s
gold!”
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