Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk urged members of the Crow Tribe of Montana to approve a water rights settlement that was signed into law by President Barack Obama last December.

Echo Hawk said the deal protects the tribe's rights to the Bighorn River and Bighorn Lake. It also provides $460 million for water projects on the reservation.

“[S]peaking as the assistant secretary, this is the best deal that you’re going to get," Echo Hawk said on Thursday, The Billings Gazette reported.

Tribal members will vote on the deal on March 19.

Get the Story:
Federal official touts Crow water settlement benefits (The Billings Gazette 3/4)

Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2009:
H.R. 3563 | S.375

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