DEWR (406) 675-2700

Water pours over the folded concrete crest of the modernized Crow Dam spillway, with Lower Crow Reservoir, green hills and distant mountains behind.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Natural Resources Department

Division of Engineering & Water Resources

The Division of Engineering & Water Resources (DEWR) was established to implement the CSKT-Montana Water Compact and support long-term stewardship and administration of Tribal water resources.

Crow Dam Water over the modernized spillway

Dated work and deadlines

On the Water Now

All notices and closures

Projects on the Reservation

Where the Work Is

Map of DEWR projects on the Flathead Indian Reservation The Reservation boundary with its rivers, lakes and highways. Each numbered pin is a project and links to its page; the list beside the map names the same projects in the same order. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Boundary and highways: U.S. Census Bureau. Rivers, lakes and places: U.S. Geological Survey. Data retrieved October 26, 2026.

Jocko River

North Fork Jocko and the Tabor Feeder Canal

Crow Creek and Lower Crow Reservoir

Mission Valley reservoirs and canals

Every project, completed, current and upcoming

Bison Range Reach Restoration

The Jocko River, 1962 and Now

The Project proposes to construct approximately 14,300 linear feet of new Jocko River channel in an historical channel alignment in the former floodplain, reclaiming approximately 12,000 feet of existing Jocko River to upland, wetland, and riparian habitats, and actively restoring the current and former floodplain.

DEWR’s phase map of the Jocko Bison Range Reach over a current aerial photograph: the new channel’s Phase 1 meanders upstream, at right, and Phase 2 downstream, at left, beside the existing Jocko River, between MT Highway 200 and the hills to the north.
The same stretch of the Jocko River valley in a black-and-white aerial photograph from July 22, 1962: the river winds through wooded bottomland between the highway and railroad and the open hills.
The Jocko River at the Bison Range Reach, July 22, 1962, and DEWR’s phase map for its restoration. Drag the edge, or use the arrow keys, to compare. The photograph is set to the map on two places that have not moved since 1962: the railroad bridge over the Jocko and King Road at MT 200. Open each whole: 1962 photograph · phase map

The Bison Range Reach project

CSKT-Montana Water Compact

The Compact

The CSKT-Montana Water Compact is a Tribal-State Federal agreement that quantifies and protects the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ federally reserved water rights under the 1855 Hellgate Treaty. The Compact was approved by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Montana Legislature, and the United States Congress, and became effective on September 17, 2021, following approval by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

  1. 1855

    The Hellgate Treaty, under which the Compact quantifies and protects the Tribes' federally reserved water rights.

  2. April 24, 2015

    Ratification by Montana Legislature and signed by Governor Steve Bullock

  3. December 27, 2020

    Ratified by the United States Congress and signed by President Donald Trump

  4. December 29, 2020

    Approved by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes by signed Council Resolution

  5. September 17, 2021

    Compact approval and release of waivers signed by Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

  6. May 12, 2026

    The Montana Water Court approved the CSKT-Montana Water Compact, marking the completion of decades of negotiation and legal proceedings.

The Compact and its documents

Eight programs

What DEWR Does

DEWR works to implement the CSKT-Montana Water Compact through engineering, science, planning, construction, operations, resource management, and public engagement. Our work includes irrigation modernization, fish passage and habitat restoration, dam safety, road improvements, water rights implementation, hydrologic monitoring, and community outreach.

  • Two people on snowshoes in deep snow drive a metal snow sampling tube into the snowpack.

    Monitoring & Measurement

    The CSKT Water Monitoring and Measurement Program quantifies snow, surface water, and groundwater resources on the Flathead Reservation. The Program also provides technical support to other Tribal programs as well as partner agencies to preserve, protect, and enhance the Reservation’s resources and ecosystems for future generations.

  • Aerial view of wetlands and farm fields along the south shore of Flathead Lake, with hills across the water.

    Water Management & Planning

    Water is a sacred and essential resource to the inhabitants of the Flathead Indian Reservation. With many competing demands, as well as climate-related impacts, it is vital to properly manage these resources to meet the various beneficial uses. Using data-driven approaches, CSKT Water Management and Planning Program staff develop solutions to these challenges, ensuring a balance between the many water needs.

  • Ducks on a pond in the Mission Valley, tall grass and pink fireweed in front, pine forest and the snow-streaked Mission Mountains behind.

    Water Rights

    The Water Rights Program Mission is to protect the Tribes' inherent water rights and ensure that these rights are recognized, quantified, and preserved for future and current generations.

  • Three workers in rubber boots set bundles of willow cuttings and logs along the bank of the Jocko River.

    Environmental Restoration

    The Restoration Program oversees and implements restoration and mitigation for historical and contemporary natural resources impacts due to the construction and operation of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project, as specified in Section 7 of the Montana Water Rights Protection Act. The program also ensures compliance with mandatory federal and Tribal environmental regulations, such as NEPA and permitting.

  • Workers in hard hats inspect a long timber shoring wall along an excavation below a forested slope.

    Irrigation Infrastructure

    The program organizes, plans and executes rehabilitation and restoration of various elements of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project with the goal of making the project more efficient with modernized control systems.

  • Water rushes from a concrete outlet into a canal that winds away across green fields, a dirt road beside it and mountains on the horizon.

    Safety of Dams

    SOD oversees the Reservation’s 15 high-hazard dams with regular instrumentation data collection, inspections and performance evaluations to identify and implement maintenance activities as well as address necessary improvements leading to rehabilitation and betterment projects associated with the CSKT Water Compact.

  • Timber cross-bracing holds up the mouth of a large corrugated metal culvert under Mollman Pass Trail, with snow and ice around it.

    Roads

    The Roads Program is responsible for the maintenance and construction of certain BIA roads within the reservation boundary. The program administers a Tribal Transportation Program in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration which includes a Long and Short Range Tribal Transportation Plan. The BIA Road Maintenance program maintains main BIA roads and Homesite roads.

  • A group of students in a grassy field listen to DEWR staff under a blue sky, the Mission Mountains on the horizon.

    Information & Education

    The Information and Education Program promotes the projects and initiatives of the Division of Engineering and Water Resources. The program offers support through multimedia resources including Geospatial data analysis, map making, public outreach and recruitment. The program engages with local schools, summer youth programs, colleges, universities, local organizations, working groups and committees.

About twenty DEWR staff and partners, several in hard hats and safety vests, gather for a group photograph on a finished structure below forested mountains.
Jocko Valley The 2026 DEWR Jocko Valley projects tour
Students sit in folding chairs in a circle around a drum while DEWR staff and partners stand behind them, an excavator and grassy hills beyond.
Jocko Bison Range Reach The groundbreaking ceremony for the project

Careers

The People Doing the Work

Our work matters. Every day, our team tackles complex challenges that directly affect the future of our communities, our water resources, and the landscapes we depend on. The decisions we support today shape the sustainability of our region for generations to come.

Careers at DEWR