NRCS to provide assistance for ag producers impacted by the St. Mary Canal siphon failure

Staff and wire report

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced this week it is working on providing assistance to Milk River irrigators impacted by the catastrophic failure of two siphons in the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works that provides much of the water in the Milk River most years.

“While the Bureau of Reclamation and other key partners coordinate the essential repairs to the St. Mary Canal Siphon and other components of the Milk River Project, we are working to create and fund an initiative to help ag producers avoid negative impacts to their natural resources related to the loss of irrigation water,” said Tom Watson, NRCS State Conservationist for Montana.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that oversees the project, part of the irrigation system the Milk River Project, said replacement efforts are progressing expeditiously, but the diversion has been shut down since June when two of the gigantic siphons that are part of the system that carries water diverted from the St. Mary River near Babb across 29 miles including over a divide and drops it into the North Fork of the Milk River.

With the water shut off, the irrigation season for the ag producers using the Milk need July 31, weeks earlier than planned before the failure of the siphons.

A release from NRCS said the service has been working closely with the Bureau of Reclamation, Milk River Joint Board of Control, the Blackfeet Nation, The Fort Belknap Indian Community, the state of Montana, conservation districts, and many other stakeholders since the June failure of the St. Mary Canal Siphon. NRCS is assessing the needs of farmers and ranchers directly impacted by the loss of water into the St. Mary Canal and associated irrigation districts of the Milk River system.

The St. Mary EQIP initiative will help to offset potential affects like increased soil erosion and decreased forage production on ag operations that usually irrigate with water from the Milk River Project. The initiative will also provide alternatives to ranchers on the Blackfeet Reservation that use the St. Mary Canal as a livestock barrier or for stockwater.

“Our staff are working to finalize details of the initiative like which conservation practices will be offered and a date for the application batching period,” Watson said. “The farmers and ranchers along the Hi-Line steward our private lands and are critical to rural economies. We want to help them be ecologically and economically viable through this situation.”

The St. Mary EQIP initiative will be supported by fiscal year 2025 funding. The application batching date will likely occur in early fall. Public notices will be issued once the date has been set and initiative specifics are decided.

NRCS is assessing the needs of farmers and ranchers in the counties impacted by the siphon failure. This includes ag operations that produce livestock, annual crops, perennial forages like hay, and more. Each type of farm or ranch may have different resource concerns, which would mean different conservation practices to address potential issues. Once the service has worked out how best it can assist, more information will be issued.

Watch for more in upcoming editions of Havre Weekly Chronicle.