Montana — We told you earlier this week when a group of Montana Republicans called out U.S. Senator Steve Daines for his role in getting the CSKT Water Compact into the recently signed spending bill. The letter called his action a “clear betrayal of our state and of President Trump.” Montana House Majority Leader Brad Tschida and 17 other state lawmakers signed on to the letter.
But today, NBC Montana received another letter from the Montana GOP. It addresses one of the signatures on the letter – one from party Vice Chair Lola Sheldon-Galloway.
“As Vice Chair of the Montana Republican Party, I did not consent to have my name attached to a letter criticizing Senator Daines’ work with President Trump’s administration to pass the Montana Water Rights Protection Act. The letter and release were sent by a former legislative staffer who acted carelessly and without my approval. The Montana Republican Party never took a formal position on the Montana Water Rights Protection Act, which ultimately received support from President Trump’s Administration and was recently signed into law by the President. However, the MTGOP did unanimously endorse his re-election, and we were proud to play a role in his historic election night victory.”
We contacted Montana House Majority Leader Brad Tschida. He told us a communication glitch led to Sheldon-Galloway’s name being incorrectly added to the letter. But Tschida says he stands by the criticism as does every other person on the letter besides Sheldon-Galloway.
Daines and Sen. Jon Tester worked on the bill together, saying it protects water rights for all Montanans, creates jobs and prevents costly litigation.
The Salish and Kootenai Tribes entered into the Hellgate Treaty of 1855, in which they gave up water rights in exchange for more than 20 million acres of land to the U.S. The rights weren’t quantified, and this move basically ratifies the deal. It would pay $1.9 billion to settle claims and rehabilitate the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project.
