Destruction

It looks like the Montana House wants to <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/02/24/news/state/23-cbm.txt">allow all the usable ground water</a> in South Eastern Montana to be pumped out of the ground to be gone forever. I really hate to tell these people but ponds and reservoirs go dry over time and then the ground water is needed to water the cattle. If we have pumped the water all out for short term profits, there will be no more water so you can run cattle. <br />n<br />nAlso, I have another question. If this bill exempts CBM water from water quality standards, what happens with the State of Montana's lawsuit that Wyoming is contaminating our streams with CBM water? If it's exempt from Montana water quality standard, we have just given the Wyoming CBM industry a present of untold value. <br />n<br />nHopefully the Senate kills this poorly thought out bill. Ranchers who care about the long term in the cattle business realize how short sighted it is to dewater the aquifers we need for our survival in this dry country. <br />n<br />n<strong>We have to preserve it and use it sustainably. And the short-term use of resources at the destruction of the long-term heritage of this country is not a policy that we can pursue. Bruce Babbitt </strong>