The following actions are recoiimiended : 



1. Encourage the city of Missoula to file an instream flow 

 reservation in the Clark Fork. 



Encourage the city of Missoula to file an instream flow 

 reservation application to protect flows in the Clark 

 Fork that recharge the Missoula Aquifer. The Clark Fork 

 provides approximately 46 percent of the annual recharge 

 to the aquifer, which supplies drinking water for 

 Missoula residents and water for two municipal systems, 

 many small community systems, several large industrial 

 users, and private well owners. It would therefore be 

 in the best interest of the city to protect instream 

 flows in the Clark Fork. 



2. Encourage others to seek instream flow reservations in 

 remaining portions of the basin. 



Seek instream flow reservations in the middle and lower 

 Clark Fork and tributaries. Although instream flow 

 reservation applications have been made by DFWP for the 

 upper Clark Fork and its tributaries, there have been 

 no such reservation applications for the remaining 

 portions of the basin. It is important to the future of 

 the Clark Fork that agencies such as DFWP, USES, BLM, 

 DHES, and others file reservation applications. 



3. Seek legislation to allow purchase of water rights. 



a. Seek legislation to allow agencies to purchase 

 water rights for instream uses in areas where 

 instream flow reservations cannot be met because of 

 current flow regimes. In this case, there has to 

 be a willing buyer and a willing seller, and the 

 transfer must satisfy the criteria under Montana 

 law. The transfer cannot adversely affect any 

 existing water users. 



b. Seek legislation to allow the state to buy or lease 

 senior water rights to use instream and to transfer 

 water conserved through increased efficiency to 

 instream use with compensation to the owner. This 

 is the only way water can be obtained from senior 

 right holders. This would be extremely important 

 for instream flow protection in dewatered streams 

 that are over-appropriated. 



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