Fellows v. Office of Water Commissioner

¶1 Charles ,E. Fellows appeals from the District Court’s order dismissing his complaint. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶2 Fellows owns a water right in Spring Creek near Choteau, Montana, decreed in 1892 in Sands Cattle and Land Co. v. Jackson, Case No. 727. He claims that the flow of Spring Creek is or was for many years recharged by water seeping from the natural channel of the Teton River. He claims that the practice of diverting water from the natural channel of the Teton River, implemented by the District Court’s water commissioner on the…