Seeley Swan Pathfinder -

If you've been around in the Blackfoot long enough, there's a good chance you've heard the words "Murphy right" or "Milltown right" thrown around. If you're an irrigator in the watershed, you've probably been affected by one or both of these instream water rights. Due to recent changes in water law, any surface water rights with a priority date junior to 1904 could be called in a drought year if flows in the Blackfoot River are low enough to warrant restrictions.

Luckily, because of the long history and success of voluntary, collaborative drought management in the Blackfoot watershed, the...