Abstract
The challenge of improving instream flows in Montana is complicated because of society’s increasing and shifting demands for water; Montana’s first-in-time, first-in-right water-use system; the slow pace of water rights adjudication; and the recent trend in the state towards a warmer and drier climate. Improving instream flows in the upper Clark Fork watershed has by necessity become an exercise in pragmatism, requiring methodical and incremental strategies, including:
- providing incentives for existing water users to apply new technology and conserve;
- being innovative when managing existing water-storage systems;
- collecting site-specific data to better inform decisions; and,
- promoting ownership in improving instream flows among the water user community.
Start Date
1-4-2005 9:20 AM
End Date
1-4-2005 9:40 AM
Document Type
Presentation
More Water Under the Bridge: Improving Instream Flows in the Upper Clark Fork River Watershed
The challenge of improving instream flows in Montana is complicated because of society’s increasing and shifting demands for water; Montana’s first-in-time, first-in-right water-use system; the slow pace of water rights adjudication; and the recent trend in the state towards a warmer and drier climate. Improving instream flows in the upper Clark Fork watershed has by necessity become an exercise in pragmatism, requiring methodical and incremental strategies, including:
- providing incentives for existing water users to apply new technology and conserve;
- being innovative when managing existing water-storage systems;
- collecting site-specific data to better inform decisions; and,
- promoting ownership in improving instream flows among the water user community.