Luxury Montana Golf Course Accused of Illicit Irrigation

Crazy Mountain Ranch (CMR) was purchased in 2021 by CrossHarbor Capital Partners, the private equity firm that also owns the Yellowstone Club and other upscale retreats that have transformed the nearby Big Sky Valley.

In September 2024, CMR had its soft opening, where players got to try out the new course co-designed by golf legend Ben Crenshaw. Any golfer’s dream, but there was a hitch: Crazy Mountain Ranch had installed pipes and were pumping water out of nearby Rock Creek to irrigate the greens without any of the necessary permits to do so.

The club had applied for water rights from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (aka the DNRC) the previous year. But instead of waiting for approval, a process that takes everyone else a couple years, Crazy Mountain turned on the taps rather than let the sod die.

Not only that, but CMR also changed the diversion point of Rock Creek, pumping that water over a ridge to reach their greens, and storing water at Rainbow Lake, which is designated only for wildlife, again without approvals. The club has even withdrawn its previous water rights applications, and no new applications have been submitted.

Nevertheless, in November of last year, the Park County Conservation District determined that no action was required by them, and that they wouldn’t levy a fine for the violations.

Locals, as you can imagine, are pretty teed off. Downstream landowner Tim Sundling told the Billings Gazette, “The bottom line is the rules are the same for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re the entitled...or simple country folk leaning on their shovel.” Neighboring rancher Scott Knutson has gone further, filing an official objection with the DNRC.

Right now is prime water demand season in the West–for golf courses, for agricultural land, for ranchers–not to mention for the fish and other wildlife who depend on the streams and lakes we’re arguing about. There’s likely not enough to go around if anyone takes more than their fair share.

So, what are the enforcement options to get CMR to play by the rules? The DNRC is authorized to fine water-use violators a thousand dollars a day, but it’s rare for them to do so. Even if they did, a few hundred grand is a pretty minor expense on CMR’s balance sheet.

A court could issue a cease-and-desist order, and a county attorney or state attorney could sue to halt the unlawful use. But would that ever lead to the authorities sending work crews out to shut off and lock CMR’s pipes?

Well, the Montana Free Press interviewed Rich Sarrazin, a water deputy who travels the county documenting water use and working with the district court to enforce the standing water rights.

“Everything will be shut down going to Rainbow Lake, and it’ll all be shut down going to the golf course for the remainder of the summer,” Sarrazin said. “That’s my job. I gotta do the dirty work…It’s not going to be easy, but they’re going to have to follow it. Otherwise, I can get law enforcement involved, and we can settle issues that way.”

Of course, the bigger issue here is precedent. If CMR can abuse water rights this way and not face consequences, what’s to stop them and other similar developers from doing the same or worse in the future?

The enforcement options to correct CMR’s water abuses are limited in part because the kind of landowner buying properties across the West is changing, from mostly agricultural uses to resorts or private hunting preserves. Legacy landowners like farmers and ranchers know they can’t step too far out of line on water use without facing social consequences. They use the same water sources, they call the same fire department, and they see each other in church.

But landowners like Crazy Mountain Ranch don’t have that same interdependence. In fact, CMR has its own separate fire department, even its own private airport! What happens this summer with this local water use issue has implications across the region. Organizations like Trout Unlimited and the Ag Council have been keeping their eye on this issue and working on legislation to strengthen oversight for this newer kind of water user.

Feature image via Livingston Enterprise Facebook.