Opinion ID: 889492
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Memorandum and Order of August 28, 2007, Regarding the Navigability of the Missouri, Madison, and Clark Fork Rivers

Text: ถ 22 The State's ability to seek compensation from PPL was premised on the notion that it owned title to the riverbeds of the Missouri, Madison and Clark Fork rivers. The State sought a summary judgment ruling that title to these riverbeds passed to Montana when it became a state in 1889 pursuant to the equal footing doctrine. In Mont. Coalition for Stream Access, Inc. v. Curran, 210 Mont. 38, 682 P.2d 163 (1984), we described this doctrine as follows: The landmark case dealing with state and federal ownership of beds underlying navigable waters is Martin v. Waddell (1842), 41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 367, 10 L.Ed. 997. In delivering the opinion of the Court, Mr. Chief Justice Taney stated, For when the Revolution took place, the people of each state became themselves sovereign; and in that character hold the absolute right to all their navigable waters and the soils under them for their own common use, subject only to the rights since surrendered by the constitution to the general government. Waddell, supra. ... States admitted to the Union subsequent to the original thirteen succeeded to the same rights on the theory that the lands acquired by the United States from the original thirteen colonies or from foreign governments were held in trust for the new states in order that they might be admitted on an equal footing with the original states. Pollard's Lessee v. Hagan (1845), 44 U.S. (3 How.) 212, 11 L.Ed. 565. Curran, 210 Mont. at 44-45, 682 P.2d at 166-67. ถ 23 The key inquiry in determining whether a state holds title to riverbeds under the equal footing doctrine is whether a river was navigable at the time the state entered the Union. In United States v. Utah, 283 U.S. 64, 51 S.Ct. 438, 75 L.Ed. 844 (1931), the Supreme Court described the test for navigability in the following terms: The rule long since approved by this court in applying the Constitution and laws of the United States is that streams or lakes which are navigable in fact must be regarded as navigable in law; that they are navigable in fact when they are used, or are susceptible of being used, in their natural and ordinary condition, as highways for commerce, over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water; and further that navigability does not depend on the particular mode in which such use is or may be hadโwhether by steamboats, sailing vessels or flatboatsโnor on an absence of occasional difficulties in navigation, but on the fact, if it be a fact, that the stream in its natural and ordinary condition affords a channel for useful commerce. Utah, 283 U.S. at 76, 51 S.Ct. at 441 (emphasis added) (quoting United States v. Holt State Bank, 270 U.S. 49, 56, 46 S.Ct. 197, 199, 70 L.Ed. 465 (1926)); see also, The Daniel Ball, 10 Wall. 557, 77 U.S. 557, 19 L.Ed. 999 (1870); The Montello, 20 Wall. 430, 87 U.S. 430, 22 L.Ed. 391 (1874). ถ 24 Applying these standards, the District Court granted summary judgment to the State, holding there were no genuine issues of material fact that the Clark Fork, Missouri, and Madison rivers were navigable in fact at the time of statehood, and that the State was entitled to summary judgment on this issue as a matter of law. ถ 25 With respect to the Missouri's navigability, the State presented evidence from the journals of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 19th century wherein they described their journey from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Coast and their use of the Missouri River to travel through present-day Montana. The State asserted that after the Lewis and Clark expedition, a long succession of fur trappers plied the upper waters of the Missouri during Montana's territorial days. Other use of the river was made by miners and settlers from Helena, Montana, to the present-day towns of Great Falls and Fort Benton. The State also cited to a 1986 Montana Navigable River Study (River Study) of the Missouri River indicating commercial use of the river until the advent of the railroad system in the 1880's. Finally, the State referred to a 1974 study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, which determined that historical evidence supported the conclusion that the Missouri River was navigable from its headwaters near Three Forks, Montana, to Loma, Montana. ถ 26 Additionally, the State claimed that the Missouri River had been declared a navigable river in previous administrative and judicial proceedings at both the state and federal level. For instance, in a 1948 decision involving MPC, the Federal Power Commission (the precursor to FERC), concluded that the Missouri River, throughout its entire length, was considered a navigable water of the United States. See In re the Mont. Power Co., 7 F.P.C. 163, 173, 1948 WL 964  (1948). The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia subsequently affirmed this decision, holding that the 263 mile stretch of the Missouri from Fort Benton to Three Forks was a navigable water of the United States. Mont. Power Co. v. Fed. Power Commn., 185 F.2d 491, 495 (D.C.Cir. 1950). Likewise, the State claimed that on two occasions this Court considered the Missouri to be a navigable river. See Gibson v. Kelly, 15 Mont. 417, 39 P. 517 (1895); Herrin v. Sutherland, 74 Mont. 587, 241 P. 328 (1925). ถ 27 Turning to the navigability of the Madison, the State acknowledged that its early navigation had not been as extensively documented as that of nearby rivers. The State attributed this to its reputation as a forbidding region due to the alleged hostility of the Blackfeet Tribe during the exploration and trapping decades of the early 19th century. However, the State cited to a historical study of the Madison River which concluded that the Madison had experienced considerable use historically by explorers, trappers, miners, farmers and loggers, and is generally considered to have high potential for navigation. Furthermore, the State relied upon the recorded observances of Captain Clark, who navigated the nearby Jefferson River and considered the Madison to be navigable as well based on his observations. The State also cited to documented instances in the 20th century of log floats down the middle portion of the Madison River, although the State noted that by that point in the Madison's history, both the Hebgen and Madison dams prevented the free and unobstructed navigation of this river. ถ 28 The State pointed out that in a previous nuisance suit against MPC regarding landholdings on the Upper Madison River which had been affected by the Madison dam, MPC did not dispute the navigability of the Madison River in court filings. See Jeffers v. Mont. Power Co., 68 Mont. 114, 217 P. 652 (1923). Additionally, the State cited to a study by the Army Corps of Engineers from 1974, where the Corps concluded that in spite of post-statehood obstructions to the Madison River, it recommended that the entire Madison River be considered navigable from its boundary with Yellowstone Park to its confluence with the Missouri. Finally, the State noted that the Madison is heavily used today by commercial fishing guides and their clients, and that this use is also sufficient to support a conclusion that the Madison River was susceptible to commercial navigation at the time of statehood. ถ 29 Turning to the Clark Fork River, the State claimed the historical record confirmed its navigation by fur traders from Pend Oreille Lake in present-day Idaho, to the mouth of the Thompson River above Thompson Falls, Montana, and that this same stretch of river was used for steam navigation until the 1860's. Based on a river study and a report by the Corps, the State cited to historical examples of use from the Thompson Falls area to its confluence with the Blackfoot River and beyond which supported a robust mining and timber industry. The State also cited to federal licensing proceedings which it contended established the navigability of the Clark Fork River. See The Montana Power Co., 8 F.P.C. 751, 1949 WL 1102 (1949); The Washington Water Power Co. (Project No. 2058), 10 F.P.C. 657, 1951 WL 1856 (1951); The Washington Water Power Co. (Project No. 2075), 14 F.P.C. 731, 1955 WL 3030 (1955). ถ 30 PPL opposed the State's motion, claiming there were genuine issues of fact as to whether the Missouri, Clark Fork, and Madison Rivers were navigable at the time of statehood in 1889. PPL presented an affidavit from Dr. David Emmons (Dr. Emmons), a professor of history at the University of Montana. Dr. Emmons opined, based on his review of the historical evidence, that none of the rivers were navigable at the time of statehood. With respect to the Missouri, Dr. Emmons opined that the Great Falls Reach, a stretch of river about 32 miles above Fort Benton containing a series of rapids and falls which descend about 520 feet over 17 miles, had never been navigated. See Mont. Power Co., 185 F.2d at 493 (describing the Great Falls Reach). Dr. Emmons claimed to base this conclusion on historical reports as well as reports from the Army Corps of Engineers from the 19th century, and the Lewis and Clark journals which described efforts to portage the Great Falls Reach. Dr. Emmons also noted that studies conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers determined that this stretch was not navigable and could only be made so at great expense. ถ 31 Regarding the Madison, Dr. Emmons pointed to a 1931 Army Corps study which concluded that commercial navigation on this river was entirely out of the question, and that as of 1931 there had never been any navigation on the Madison River. Dr. Emmons concluded these reports and studies presented conclusive evidence of non-navigability. Dr. Emmons discounted the observations of Lewis and Clark regarding the navigability of the Madison by noting that they never actually attempted to ascend this river. ถ 32 Furthermore, PPL disputed the propriety of relying upon present-day usage of the Madison River in order to prove navigability at the time of statehood. PPL noted that the State relied on Alaska v. Ahtna, Inc., 891 F.2d 1401 (9th Cir.1989), in presenting this argument, but asserted that Ahtna was inapposite. In Ahtna, the Ninth Circuit allowed present-day usage of the Gulkana River in Alaska to be considered in order to determine if it was susceptible to use at the time of Alaska statehood. Ahtna, 891 F.2d at 1405. PPL argued Ahtna was inapposite because the parties in that case had stipulated that the characteristics of the Gulkana had not changed since statehood. Here, by contrast, PPL presented an affidavit from Dr. Stanley Schumm, a fluvial geomorphologist, that the characteristics of the Madison had changed since statehood, thus rendering Ahtna inapplicable. In particular, Dr. Schumm stated that the Madison and Hebgen dams had altered the seasonal variations in the Madison River from those which were present at the time of statehood. The flow during the highest periods of the year (May to June) had decreased, whereas the flow during the lowest periods of the year (October through November) had increased. This increase was approximately two-thirds of a foot in October, to nine-tenths of a foot in November. PPL argued that this expert analysis established that the Madison was more susceptible now to navigation than at the time of statehood, thus making present-day use, and reliance on the precedent established by Ahtna, untenable. Furthermore, Dr. Schumm opined based on his expertise as a fluvial geomorphologist that because of its historic, pre-statehood physical characteristics, the Madison River was not in fact susceptible to navigation at the time of statehood. ถ 33 Finally, PPL argued that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding the navigability of the Clark Fork River at the time of statehood. Relying again on the opinion of Dr. Emmons, PPL pointed to a 1891 Army Corps report to Congress stating that the reach of the Clark Fork from Lake Pend Oreille to the confluence of the Blackfoot River, roughly 6 miles upstream of Missoula, was a torrential stream, full of rocks, falls, and rapids, and was utterly unnavigable and incapable of being made navigable except at an enormous cost. PPL claimed that the Army Corps reiterated this view into at least the 1940's. Finally, PPL pointed to an unreported federal 1910 decision from the District Court of Montana wherein the court decreed the portion of the Clark Fork River in Sanders County, Montana, to be a nonnavigable stream incapable of carrying the products of the country in the usual manner of water transportation.... [6] ถ 34 In addition to arguing that material facts precluded summary judgment, PPL also asserted that the State's evidence of historical use of these rivers was neither credible nor appropriately used. For instance, PPL claimed that the River Study relied heavily upon two of the most unreliable sources of historical information from the frontier West: newspaper articles and personal reminiscences. PPL asserted, through the affidavit of Dr. Emmons, that these sources were full of embellishments, and virtually worthless as documentary proof of events. PPL also claimed that the State's Corps reports were unreliable because they were not actually studies conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, but were instead studies prepared for the Army Corps by some other entity. ถ 35 Lastly, PPL argued that the State's reliance on previous federal administrative and judicial proceedings regarding the navigability of rivers in Montana was misplaced because those proceedings considered navigability for regulatory purposes, which is a different standard than navigability for title purposes. In particular, PPL noted that navigability for regulatory purposes under the FPA is established if the rivers were navigable in the past, or if they can be made navigable with reasonable improvements. Navigability for title, by contrast, does not allow navigability to be based on whether the river can be improved to a state of navigability. See Or. v. Riverfront Prot. Assn., 672 F.2d 792, 794 n. 1 (9th Cir.1982) (discussing the distinctions between navigability for title and navigability for federal regulatory purposes). For all these reasons, PPL urged the District Court to deny the State's motion. ถ 36 In its analysis, the District Court considered the definitions of actual use or susceptible of being used as used in the navigability for title test. Citing to Utah v. United States, 403 U.S. 9, 91 S.Ct. 1775, 29 L.Ed.2d 279 (1971), the District Court observed that actual use does not have to be commercially profitable under the navigability for title test. See Utah, 403 U.S. at 11, 91 S.Ct. at 1776. Similarly, under cases such as The Montello and Holt State Bank, the United States Supreme Court specifically noted that navigability is not limited to large-scale commercial navigation, nor indeed does it depend on the mode of transportation used on the river. See The Montello, 87 U.S. at 441-42; Holt State Bank, 270 U.S. at 56, 46 S.Ct. at 199. The District Court also opined that navigability could be determined under the log-floating test this Court referenced in Curran. See Curran, 210 Mont. at 44, 682 P.2d at 166 (navigability for title can be established by evidence of log floats). ถ 37 Addressing susceptibility of use, the District Court cited to United States v. Utah, 283 U.S. 64, 51 S.Ct. 438, 75 L.Ed. 844 (1931), and concluded that the key inquiry was whether the river was susceptible to being used in its ordinary condition, rather than the mere manner or extent of actual use.... Utah, 283 U.S. at 82, 51 S.Ct. at 443; see also The Montello, 87 U.S. at 441-42 (stating that [i]f it be capable in its natural state of being used of purposes of commerce, no matter in what mode the commerce may be conducted, it is navigable in fact, and becomes in law a public river or highway.). Relying also on Riverfront Prot. Assn., 672 F.2d at 795, the District Court noted that such use need not be without difficulty, extensive, or long and continuous. ถ 38 With these legal principles in mind, the District Court evaluated the evidence of navigability presented by the State with respect to each river. Regarding the Missouri, the District Court concluded the State had presented considerable evidence of navigability. The District Court stated that the Federal Power Commission had previously determined the Missouri was a navigable river in 1948, and that this decision was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. See Mont. Power Co., 185 F.2d at 494. The District Court discounted an argument advanced by PPL that the Great Falls Reach of the Missouri prevented it from being declared a navigable river. Citing to The Montello, 87 U.S. at 443, and Utah, 283 U.S. at 86-87, 51 S.Ct. at 445, the District Court concluded that a river is considered navigable for title purposes even if it contains obstacles to free passage, such as rapids, riffles, or occasional areas of low water requiring portage, so long as the natural navigation of the river itself affords a channel for useful commerce. ถ 39 For the Clark Fork, the District Court determined that the State had presented historical evidence showing it was navigable in fact, including documents showing that the river had been used for log drives. The District Court specifically cited to the following finding of fact issued by the FPC in a federal regulatory proceeding in 1949: The section of the Clark Fork River between Pend Oreille Lake in Idaho and the mouth of the Jocko River in Montana was used for the transportation of persons and property between areas now constituting the states of Oregon, Idaho, and Montana from 1810 to 1870, such use being canoe and batteaux transportation of furs by the fur traders of the British Northwest Fur Co., the canoe transportation of the original missionaries to the Indian tribes in the Clark Fork basin, and with the use of short portages around the Cabinet Rapids and Rock Island Rapids, by steamboats of the Oregon Steam Navigation Co. and its subsidiary, the Oregon & Montana Navigation Co. in the carriage of substantial numbers of gold miners, their pack animals and supplies, as well as commercial freight consigned to the gold camps in the vicinity of what is now Helena, Mont. The Mont. Power Co. (Project No. 1869), 8 F.P.C. 751, 753, 1949 WL 1102 . ถ 40 The District Court also noted that the Clark Fork had been declared navigable from Pend Oreille Lake to the Jocko River by the FPC in other proceedings as well. The District Court rejected PPL's argument that the findings of these proceedings could not be relied upon because they involved determinations of navigability for regulatory purposes. The District Court acknowledged differences between the navigability for title and regulatory purposes test, but observed it was not prohibited from relying on the findings generated by regulatory decisions in evaluating whether a Montana river satisfied the navigability for title test. The District Court noted that obstructions requiring portages do not defeat a finding of navigability for title where the river provides a useful channel for commerce. See The Montello, 87 U.S. at 441-42; Utah, 283 U.S. at 86-87, 51 S.Ct. at 445. Here, the findings of the FPC and the other evidence presented by the State showed that the Clark Fork was used as a channel for commerce and met the navigability for title test. ถ 41 Turning to the Madison River, the District Court acknowledged there was little historical documentation regarding use of this river. However, the 1986 River Study prepared for DNRC did conclude that the Madison River had experienced considerable use by explorers, trappers, miners, farmers, and loggers. The River Study also determined that the Madison had a high potential for navigation. Furthermore, the River Study referred to at least one recorded example of a log float in 1913 on the middle portion of the Madison, from the mouth of its west fork to present-day Varney, Montana. Additionally, the District Court pointed out that the Madison today experiences considerable recreational use. Despite the admittedly sparse record before it, the District Court concluded that the Madison was a navigable river. ถ 42 Finally, with respect to each of these determinations, the District Court relied to some extent on the fact that PPL had admitted the navigability of these rivers in its answer to the State's counterclaims. The District Court concluded that PPL was bound by these admissions, and relied upon this point to help bolster its conclusions. Because the District Court explicitly relied upon PPL's admissions in coming to a decision, we must conclude they carried some weight in its final determination. ถ 43 We take note of this aspect of the District Court's reasoning because prior to both the issuance of the scheduling order and the District Court's grant of summary judgment on the navigability issues, PPL filed a motion to amend its pleadings to remove any admissions regarding the navigability of the Clark Fork, Madison, and Missouri Rivers. In its brief in support, PPL claimed that its historical research had yielded documents which raised questions about the navigable status of the rivers on which its projects are located. In light of the State's responses to discovery requests and its research, PPL sought to amend its answer to account for this newly discovered information. However, PPL's motion was never properly addressed by the District Court. PPL raises this issue as an error requiring reversal, and we will return to this topic in our analysis of the District Court's decision.