23-05-2025
It's the call of duty for Knudsen, Gianforte
A picture of a sprinkler on grass (Photo by Michael Mol via Flickr | CC-BY-SA 2.0).
Montana's public officials take an oath of office when they assume their positions. This is not optional and is required by Montana's Constitution:
Article III – General Government – Section 3. Oath of office. Members of the legislature and all executive, ministerial and judicial officers, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, before they enter upon the duties of their offices: 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Montana, and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity (so help me God).'
Now, it appears that another enclave for the mega-wealthy is defying both Montana's water rights laws and the constitution — and so far, they're getting away with it as Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen are lax in upholding their sworn duty 'to protect and defend' our constitution.
As reported this week, the Crazy Mountain Ranch is an 18,000 acre super-upscale development by 'Lone Mountain Land Co., a subsidiary of CrossHarbor Capital Partners, a private-equity firm behind the development of the equally exclusive Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and Moonlight Basin Resort at Big Sky.'
By now Montanans are deep into learning the hard lessons that those with big money tend to do what they want, following the old adage that 'it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.' And in this case, neither permission nor forgiveness are even being asked for — merely a 'we'll do what we want and if you don't like it, sue us.'
But there's another old adage in the West that's equally applicable here: 'Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.' And while the monied clients of the 'ranch' may be eating thick steaks and sipping old whiskey, the multi-generational ranchers whose water rights are threatened are 'lawyering up' and fighting — and they could use some help from the governor and attorney general.
In short, the Crazy Mountain Ranch spent a million bucks to 'lay turf' on a 112-acre golf course — and they have stated their intention to water that high-price turf with or without state-approved rights to the water, even openly admitting they did so last year and intend to do so this year. There's a word for these kinds of people, and that word is 'scofflaws.'
The same constitution both Gianforte and Knudsen swore to uphold is clear: 'All surface, underground, flood, and atmospheric waters within the boundaries of the state are the property of the state for the use of its people and are subject to appropriation for beneficial uses as provided by law.'
Despite wearing cowboy boots and jeans, Gianforte is not a rancher and may not understand the complexity of the Prior Appropriation Doctrine. But Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who was raised in Culbertson in rural Roosevelt County, surely knows that water is the lifeblood of ranching in Montana. As former Speaker of the House, he is also well acquainted with the state's water rights laws — and the need to either follow those laws or be back to killing each other with shovels on irrigation diversion ditches.
If these mega-wealthy developers want to defy Montana's water laws, then let them take on the State and all Montanans, not just a handful of old ranchers they can easily outspend. Comes now the 'call of duty' to Gianforte and Knudsen to honor their oaths 'with fidelity,' protect the state's water rights system, and immediately move to shut down the irrigation of the elite scofflaws' 'turf.'
