Citing First Year Results, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Will Not Issue a Request to Immediately Secure its Senior Water Rights in 2025

TOPEKA - On August 21, 2024, Governor Laura Kelly and Senator Jerry Moran celebrated that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will not request regulation of water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek Basin for 2025. In 2023, Governor Kelly and Senator Moran urged USFWS to seek 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.

“I have been committed to bringing local stakeholders, agricultural groups, and area farmers and ranchers together to address the water rights issue in the Rattlesnake Creek Basin,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The unparalleled progress we have made is encouraging. 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.”

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 October 2023, USFWS agreed to conditionally pause its request to secure its senior water right as the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources (KDA–DWR) and local stakeholders worked to find a practicable and permanent solution to the impairment.

This pause came after Governor Kelly sent a letter to USFWS in September, urging it to work with KDA–DWR and local stakeholders to find a solution. Senator Moran had also called on USFWS to work with KDA–DWR toward resolution of the issue.

“Kansas producers have been implementing voluntary conservation practices which have reduced streamflow depletion along the Rattlesnake Creek basin,” said Senator Jerry Moran. “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.”

As part of this process, Governor Kelly directed state agencies to develop a plan that would dedicate $7 million to one-time state water plan funds to develop and implement solutions identified by the working group of stakeholders. This funding was approved by a bipartisan vote of the State Finance Council in November. KDA-DWR and local stakeholders developed a plan that, by the end of 2025, will restore 3,247.6 acre-foot (AF) of streamflow to the refuge, above the first-year goal of 2,800 AF.

This will be achieved by:

- Regulating targeted minimum desirable streamflow wells;
- Voluntary water right buy-outs;
- A pilot project to pump water directly into the stream from nearby wells; and
- An innovative leasing program that allows water right holders near the stream to bank a portion of their water rights in exchange for a temporary payment.

These intermediate solutions will help facilitate long-term solutions to allow the community to pump water back into the stream when needed, without compromising economic viability in the region. Continued engagement with local stakeholders and active management to further develop solutions will be critical for long-term success.

A copy of USFWS’ letter to Governor Kelly expressing support for the collaborative approach can be found here.