A Montana Tribe Finalizes a Historic $1.9 Billion Settlement

After decades of negotiations, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) have finalized a $1.9 billion water rights settlement that resolves thousands of tribal claims tied to waterways throughout western Montana.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed the long-pending water compact last week, executing a complex agreement that confirms CSKT’s water rights and authorizes funding to modernize a federal irrigation project comprising 1,300 miles of aging canals also known as the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project. The agreement, which was initially introduced in Congress in 2016 before being passed last...