Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes v. Clinch

¶1 Bud Clinch, Director of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), and the DNRC appeal from the order of the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, granting summary judgment in favor of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Tribes). We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

¶2 We consider the following issue on appeal:

¶3 Can DNRC process applications to change the use of state appropriative water rights on the Flathead Reservation prior to quantification of the Tribes’ reserved rights?

BACKGROUND

¶4 James and Katherine Axe, non-Indian…