This story was updated on July 24 at 10:27 a.m. to make clarifications regarding senior and junior water rights, and to correct that the main stem of the Blackfoot River has been placed under a hoot owl restriction, not the north fork.
Like many other people who make or have made their living working the land, Denny Iverson saw this year’s drought coming.
The winter was drier than normal in Montana and the snowpack didn’t build up well. On top of that, it was an El Niño year, which from decades of experience Iverson knows to mean drought in the Potomac Valley, where the Iverson Family Ranch is located.
Despite that, this spring and summer have been something new, particularly in the way the creeks got so low so early.
“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it in the 50 years I’ve been here,” Iverson said.
As he can understand drought indicators, Iverson also knows it takes collective involvement to keep rivers and creeks safe for fish, and to keep water flowing for irrigators. To this end, Iverson has been part of the Blackfoot Drought Plan since its inception in 2000.
On July 12, the Blackfoot River experienced unprecedented markers for this time of year, according to area experts. Hoot owl restrictions were put in place on the Blackfoot River and the river level at a gauge near Bonner dropped below 700 cubic feet per second.
The last time a hoot owl restriction was placed on the Blackfoot River was in 2016, Clancy Jandreau, water steward with the Blackfoot Challenge, which monitors the Blackfoot watershed, said, and that was the same year the Blackfoot dropped under 500 cubic feet per second and junior water right holders had to give up their rights, or in other words, stop using water for irrigation, something that hasn’t happened since, but Jandreau expects is on the horizon.
Since the Blackfoot River dropped below 700 cfs this year, those who participate in the Blackfoot Drought Plan, like Iverson, started implementing their drought plans. Participation is voluntary, and plans are individualized to meet the needs of water users, who might start rotating water systems, shut their water off completely or start trading water rights.
If a water user is not operating under the drought plan, the state contacts these users to let them know it can require anyone with junior water rights, or more recent rights than the state holds, to shut off their water until the 700 cfs flow is reestablished.
Both the state and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes co-own an instream water right on the Blackfoot River. This right was established in 2015 when the CSKT Montana Water Compact was passed through the state house, but will not be enforced until 2025.
Before the water compact, the state held what is known as the Murphy Right, which gives Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks an instream right on the Blackfoot River as of 1971. Ultimately, this means all water users — except domestic and stock water use — who are junior to the state’s right, and can be asked to shut off their water if that 700 cfs trigger is met.
2015 was a particularly bad drought year in the Blackfoot watershed, and in early August the river dropped below 500 cubic feet per second, which brought fisheries biologists and stakeholders in the watershed to voice some concerns. This led to the adoption of a second flower trigger of 500 cfs in the Blackfoot Drought Plan.
The very next year, when the river dropped beneath the 500 mark again, was the first and only year so far the trigger came into effect and junior water users had to stop diverting water.
Flow triggers use measurements of water flow at the Bonner gauge on the Blackfoot River to implement different levels of drought management plans. And, if flows drop below 700 cfs, the state of Montana can enforce its senior water right to to maintain instream flows.
Temperature triggers exist as well to designate when hoot owl restrictions are to be placed on certain stretches of rivers. On the Blackfoot River, if it’s 71 degrees fahrenheit for three days in a row, a hoot owl restriction can be implemented. The temperature threshold drops to 65 degrees for critical bull trout habitat tributaries.
Being a part of the Blackfoot Drought Plan gives water users some flexibility to change their water use habits before being asked to turn the water off by the state.
“We do have good participation from water users that are completely senior to the Murphy Right…but they choose to participate in the plan because of their values in the community and wanting to be a part of the community and their willingness to sacrifice in times of need to really reduce the burden of difficult water years on everybody because drought effects everybody,” Jandreau said.
Iverson is one of those water users that participates in the drought plan despite having rights senior to the Murphy Right.
At 500 cfs, even members of the drought plan can be called on by the state to turn off their water, unless they have rights senior to the state or can set up an exchange — maybe turning off a certain amount of senior water rights to continue using junior rights.
The Blackfoot River hasn’t hit 500 cfs yet, but was at 581 cfs on the morning of July 17. At that point, it was dropping by about 27 cfs per day. On July 22, the United State Geological Survey data showed a flow of 510 cfs.
“I would still expect the river to drop but can be somewhat hopeful that it’s going to be dropping at a slower rate at this point,” Jandreau said.
A handful of other drought plans like the Blackfoot’s exist across the state. With-70 plus watershed groups in Montana, Jandreau said they’re a model that works well for the varying needs of water users. One most similar to the Blackfoot that Jandreau identified is the Big Hole River Drought Management Plan. The state also has a drought plan that was most recently updated in 2023, the first update since it was created in 1995.
The way Iverson sees it, everyone is in the same boat fighting this drought. People need to be careful enjoying the outdoors when it’s so dry, particularly as stage two fire restrictions have already been implemented, something Iverson also said was early for this time of year.
“On a year like this, there’s not a lot you can do,” Iverson said.
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