This story also appeared in Mountain Journal The Crazy Mountain Ranch property at the base of the Crazy Mountains. Streamflows into Criswell Ditch (right side of image) were at the heart of the court hearing on Wednesday in Park County, Montana. Cred it: Ecoflight A few miles downstream from a controversial invitation-only ranch in the Shields Valley, Rock Creek rushes over cobblestones with a hint color, occasionally overtopping its banks with spring runoff. About 25 miles away, a pending decision on a Wednesday court hearing could impact who controls a key diversion, known as a headgate, on the creek — and the fate of the water and local ranching families who depend on it.  The hearing is the latest iteration of a conflict between wealth and tradition that has seized the Shields Valley for years. A subsidiary of CrossHarbor Capital Partners, owner of the luxury private ski resort the Yellowstone Club, purchased the 18,000-acre ranch in 2021. A couple years later, Crazy Mountain Ranch began work on a brand new golf course that would provide a “Montana golf experience beyond compare.”  The thing is, golf courses require a lot of water. And a lot of people depend on the flows of Rock Creek, especially as Montana copes with a sixth consecutive year of drought. The state sued Crazy Mountain Ranch last year over illegally irrigating the links, citing dozens of complaints from nearby irrigators. “Ranches Not Resorts” signs sprung up across the valley. But the ranch was dedicated to keeping its grass alive. They sourced water from Big Timber, Four Corners, even Boulder, Montana, more than 100 miles away. CMR reached an agreement with the state last summer, but the water drama wasn’t over. About 85 people crowded into the Park County Courthouse on Wednesday — some standing, sitting on the floor — to hear the latest development. At issue was the Upper Criswell Ditch headgate, the highest water-diversion structure on Rock Creek as the waterway spills out of the Crazy Mountains.  Rock Creek flows from deep in the Crazy Mountains into the Shields River. A key headgate that diverts water from the creek was the focus of a court hearing on Wednesday. That day, Rock Creek swelled with spring runoff from the Crazies. Credit: Nick Mott In court filings in April, Crazy Mountain Ranch requested “exclusive authority” to operate the Upper Criswell Ditch headgate. It was, according to CMR, a relatively innocuous ask. In a statement, Ranch Manager David Hardwick said the request would allow the ranch to open and close the gate at the exact times needed on a daily, and at times hourly, basis to ensure the ranch uses only the water to which they’re entitled.  “Even in light of all the furor from last year, I’m a little surprised by all the attention this request received,” Peter Scott, CMR’s attorney, said during the hearing. But the request was unusual. In most circumstances, court-appointed water commissioners have authority over operating and adjusting headgates. Part of the ranch’s request to seize control of the headgate appeared personal: The ranch’s court filings singled out Rich Sarrazin, the water commissioner tasked with divvying up water to users in times of scarcity, who has been assigned to the Shields Valley for about two decades. The filings cited Montana Free Press reporting from March in which Sarrazin said the water from Rock Creek would be tight this year and should be used for agriculture.  The golf course on the 18,000-acre Crazy Mountain Ranch has stoked controversy in the Shields Valley for years. Credit: Nick Mott “Because of some of the recent unpleasantness, there’s a raised index of suspicion about this request for exclusivity,” Mike Atkinson, a neighboring water user representing himself, said during the hearing. “Should CMR be the only water user in the state of Montana with the exclusive authority to operate its own headgates and measure and distribute water?”  Breeann Johnson, attorney for Sarrazin and fellow Water Commissioner Lacey Arthun, called Rock Creek one of Montana’s classic “fightin’ creeks.” She said the request for exclusive authority could upend Montana’s more than century-old water law.  “This case obviously has caught a lot of attention and has the potential to set precedent,” Johnson said. In the courtroom Wednesday, however, Scott softened Crazy Mountain Ranch’s position. “It was never the intent of CMR to interfere with the commissioner’s authority to add, measure, or distribute water,” he said. A sign demarcates Crazy Mountain Ranch property outside Clyde Park, Montana. Credit: Nick Mott The issue Scott pointed to during the hearing in part boiled down to technology: The ranch installed automated remote-sensing technology that enables real-time monitoring of the headgate. “What we’re really looking for is day-to-day operational authority,” he said. “We’re not looking for the right to ignore the commissioner’s orders. If the commissioner orders the valve to be shut, it will be shut.”  With a new understanding of Crazy Mountain Ranch’s request, all parties ultimately voiced optimism they could find some common ground.  “We just want to work it out and we don’t want any more trouble,” Atkinson said. “We want to be ‘Happy Valley’ again.”  The parties have two weeks to reach an agreement, per District Judge Adam Larsen’s orders. In a statement after the hearing, CMR attorney Peter Scott said things are already on track for a tough water year and that the ranch is working with the commissioners to finalize how Upper Criswell Ditch will be monitored and managed. “CMR appreciates the court’s guidance in allowing it to manage its water rights, with oversight of the water commissioners,” Scott said.  In the courtroom after the hearing, Shields Valley rancher and water user Phil Gilbert wasn’t so optimistic. “They’ve always just went ahead and did what they pleased and what they darn well wanted to do,” he said. “It sounds pretty good when we’re in court, but they’ve got a different agenda when they’re out on the ranch. Time will tell.” The post Crazy Mountain Ranch softens approach in latest battle over water appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less