The Blackfeet Water Rights Compact
The Blackfeet Water Compact is an agreement among the Blackfeet Nation, the United States and the State of Montana that confirms and establishes the Tribe’s water rights (also called Winters rights) and confirms the Tribe’s jurisdiction and authority to manage those rights.
The compact required the approval of the Tribe, the State of Montana and the United States. The Montana Legislature approved the compact in 2009. Congress passed a bill that was then signed into law by President Obama on December 16, 2016, which provided federal approval of the compact as well as $422 million (in addition to the state contribution of $49 million) in funding for water-related projects on the Reservation. Then on April 20, 2017, Blackfeet tribal members voted to approve the Blackfeet Water Compact and Settlement Act.
These pages are part of an overall effort to get more information into the hands of tribal members about the water compact and settlement act. We hope you will read and share this information, ask questions, and be part of the process.
A timeline that highlights the major events and milestones leading up to the current compact.
Answers to the most common questions about the water compact and settlement act.
A map of the six watersheds on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation from which the tribe draws its water rights.
Additional information about the water compact, including copies of the compact, the federal bill approving the compact and other resources.
