“These are the times that try men's souls.” | LOL, well Puff they had some minor flooding last year in fall and it washed a lot of those Juniper trees out they put in to stabilize the bank. If they can get it grassed in and some willows, then it may hold. However the problem in putting willows in, it will suck that rancher's water for his irrigation system they put in. Once the habitat is restored, then if the water is taken in vegetation. I don't know what he is going to do. Because that water has to come down channel on federal lands, also being listed as a U.S. waterways he will not be able to go in and change or modify any channel or clean. Some of this water originates right on the fence line of private and federal lands, then flows through federal, back onto private which the rancher in video has the filings on. From his place the water disappears into the ground. Only on a high water year will it flow down a mile or two more though other neighbors places.
Some of that big channel they showed was actually the flow into our irrigation reservoir down in the valley by my place. It was built in the late 1800's into the early 1910's. Myself and other stockholders own the water storage rights of the reservoir, but it sits on federal lands as does our canal system of 9 miles. We shut down all watercraft on it a few years back because of invasive species https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/quagga-mussel coming into water system and destroying irrigation systems. There is quite a problem in Utah with it, so without proper inspection from ISDA we chose to shut it down until a solution could be reached. It has caused quite a bit of tensions with Idaho Fish and Game and the Forest Service.
So the saying Whiskey is for drinking, water for fighting is very true out in the west. The last three years has been problems with water systems on the Federal lands for cattle. By Idaho law the government can't hold water rights in their name, however they have made a point in getting every water right on their land in their names and controlling it. Now the state says they can't do that. Well it caused a push back from fed's over the issue, telling us we couldn't even maintain some things. So we still are in limbo on it, however BLM is easing up a bit on it, FS still is having problems. Hopefully we can work though it in the coming years.
So yes most weeks I'm on the phone with F&G and FS as well as BLM over water issues, it's a major headache. Bottom line is we all have to play nice, sometimes when you give a title to someone they like to puff their chest out and control things.
Edited by Russ In Idaho 3/10/2019 22:02
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Well I'm getting tired of winter snow,.............
