Archives West Finding Aid

The collection has been arranged into three series. Series One papers include minutes and agendas of the meetings from January 1977-January 1981; organizational and administrative papers; news releases and schedules of events; Roy Huffman's working papers, personal correspondence and expense vouchers; files on projects and agencies within the Board's jurisdiction including: conservation districts, dams, fire rules (forests), flood plain delineations, grazing districts, the Renewable Alternative Energy Program, rights-of-way, sediment control, state water development projects, some water reservations papers, watershed and river basin activities and weather modification along with the Circle West Project, Montana Power Company interests, and materials related to the interaction between the BNRC, Legislature, Courts and other constituencies. Series Two records relate to the decisions on in-stream water reservations for the Yellowstone River (the first river to be adjudicated under the new law). Requests for water reservations, transcriptions of hearings, petitions for rehearing, final arguments, legal briefs and the final orders on Yellowstone River reservations and related papers are represented in this series. Interested parties included cities, towns and agricultural enterprises along the river, 14 Applicant Conservation Districts, the Dept. of State Lands, the Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Dept. of Health and Environmental Sciences, the Dept. of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, Utah International, Inc., Intake Water Company, the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Montana Council of Trout Unlimited, and the Federation of Fly Fishermen. Series Three records cover implementation by the BNRC of the Major Facilities Siting Act, in particular the Colstrip - Hot Springs, Montana Transmission Line for connection with the Bonneville system and amendments to the construction permits for the Colstrip #3 and #4 generating plants. A major portion of the papers for the main transmission lines of the Montana Power Co. are related to the Broadview - Grass Range - Glengarry 100 kV line and the main 500 kV Colstrip to Hot Springs line. Also present are records related to corridor designations for the Clyde Park - Dillon Transmission Line through the Jack Creek drainage in the Gallatin National Forest with the attendant litigation of the Montana Wilderness Assn., the Anaconda - Hamilton Transmission Line, and Northern Lights, Inc request for the Troy - Mt. Vernon power line for the proposed Mt. Vernon Mine. Correspondence by Board members Ted J. Doney, Cecil Weeding, John C. Orth, and Joseph W. Sabol (attorney for the Board) as well as Roy Huffman are prevalent. Maps, aerial mosaics, charts, hearing exhibits, pamphlets, reports, articles and other supporting materials are present within the various series. Many records are photocopies distributed to the Board members. Published background studies and reports readily available in the stacks and/or Special Collections were removed from the collection.