Enviro groups attempting to destroy Eastern MT ag

A cadre of  radical environmental groups have set their sites on farmers and ranchers along the Yellowstone River in Eastern Montana in an attempt to eliminate irrigation projects in at least five locations on the river.

The first attack is against the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project between Glendive and Sidney where the out-of-state environmental group Defenders of Wildlife has sued the Army Corps of Engineers to remove a 107-year-old diversion wier.  That wier is the starting point for a massive irrigation project that serves nearly 60,000 acres in Montana and North Dakota, and is the backbone for a $10 million sugar industry that supports hundreds of jobs in Sidney.  There are at least four other irrigation projects on the Yellowstone that environmental groups plan to target.

These attacks are nothing more than a shameless abuse of the Courts and federal administrative processes.  And it’s just one more example of the widening War on Ag being waged by environmental groups intent on driving agriculture out of Montana.

If you’re in Billings on June 30 you can do something about it.  The Army Corps is holding an EIS hearing at 5:30 pm at the Lincoln Center.  You can go to submit your public comment, which will be come part of the official record and help guide the Army Corps decision..  If you are unable to attend a meeting, you can send your comments via email to cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil.