Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Senator Jerry Moran have announced a resolution to water rights issues on the Rattlesnake Creek Basin for next year.   They said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not be asking for regulation of water rights issues on the Basin.

Last year, the Governor and Senator Moran urged the Fish and Wildlife Service to work out a sustainable and viable solution with area irrigators and water users that secures USFWS’s senior water right while minimizing the impact on the local economy.   The agency had agreed to put its water rights request on hold to allow for discussions.

The Rattlesnake Creek Basin has long provided water to the region’s agriculture industry and to migratory and resident wildlife in the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in southern Kansas.

Governor Kelly said in a press release that the progress has been encouraging.  She said in a press release, “By partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we will continue working toward a sustainable, long-term solution that ensures the refuge receives the water it needs while avoiding economic damages to local communities in the region.”

Senator Moran also issued a statement that said Kansas producers have been following voluntary conservation practices that have reduced streamflow depletion along the Rattlesnake Creek Basin.  He said “By working together, farmers, ranchers, local stakeholders and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have made progress towards finding mutually beneficial solutions that protect our water resources. The work done today will help ensure farming and ranching operations continue for generations to come.”

The Kansas Department of Agriculture and its Division of Water Resources worked with local stakeholders to create a plan that, by the end of 2025, will restore 3,247.6 acre-feet of streamflow to the refuge, above the first-year goal of 2,800 acre-feet.