- Barker, R. (2014, November 17). Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/11/17/3490960/idahos-water-rights-pact-looks.html
Since 2001 the Idaho government has been disagreeing with the nez pierce tribe over water most predominantly the Snake River. The farmers argue that they need the water to feed their crops and that livestock that they have. The Nez Pierce think that since it’s their land they can do whatever they want with it. At first the government wanted to preserve the water and the endangered fish so they sacrificed around 30million dollars of farming. Then the economy went down so the government decided to give water to the farmers which in turn started killing the salmon again. This pattern has continued with issues directed at possibly losing all of its water to tribes again.This pattern of water rights throughout the country needs to be settled because we have bigger topics to focus on. Rather than fighting who gets the water we need to see how much water we have left and what we are going to do about it. There are so many crops and economies that are dying and going down that we have completely ignored because we are fighting over the water. The government needs to firstly just control the water for now because we are in a huge drought. Secondly they should have the tribes input and communication with them to let them know how they will be using the water. Thirdly they need to make sure the environment isn’t being damaged in the process.