Office of the Governor

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Senator Jerry Moran today celebrated an agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) to work together to resolve water rights issues surrounding the Rattlesnake Creek Basin.

Governor Kelly and Senator Moran are urging the two agencies to seek a sustainable and viable solution that secures USFWS’s priority water rights while minimizing impacts on the local economy.

The Rattlesnake Creek Basin has long provided water for the region’s agriculture as well as migratory and resident wildlife in the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is managed by the USFWS, which again needed water earlier this year.

The announcement means that the USFWS has agreed to conditionally suspend its application to secure its priority water right while directing KDA and local stakeholders to find a workable and permanent solution to the current impairment.

“I am pleased that both parties have agreed to work together on a sustainable solution for all who rely on the Rattlesnake Creek Basin,” Kelly said. “By working together, we can demonstrate how agricultural producers and all water rights holders can meet the challenge of meeting our state’s water needs now and in the future.”

In September, Kelly sent a letter to the USFWS director requesting that he work with the KDA’s Division of Water Resources to find a solution to the problem. In the letter, she wrote that “failure to achieve a collaborative and phased solution will create unnecessary economic hardship for local businesses and communities that will impact the entire state and region.”

Moran also called on the USFWS to work with the KDA to find a solution.

“I appreciate the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts to listen to Kansas residents and hear their concerns about the Rattlesnake Creek Watershed,” Moran said. “It is important that we find long-term solutions that support the sanctuary and the regional economy, and I am pleased that all parties are working together toward a sustainable future for the watershed and our Kansas producers.”

A letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service informing the Kansas Department of Agriculture of this decision can be found here.