“West Gallatin Canal”
1883 Kleinschmidt Canal, aka "West Gallatin Canal"
Water is the life blood of Montana, as it is in many of the semi-arid regions of the American West. The Gallatin Valley, where the Enterprise Ranch is located, is known as a “green oasis” because of its extensive irrigation system (66 canals). These canals feed into an estimated 2,000 miles of irrigation ditches in the Gallatin Valley which provide the “liquid gold” to local farmers and ranchers for crops and livestock.
Travel west of the 100th meridian in the United States, which roughly runs north and south from Texas to North Dakota, and rainfall drops below 20 inches per year. This means that supplemental water is required for bountiful and predictable yields of grains, potatoes, hay, and garden crops.
That said, Gallatin Valley and the surrounding area receives significantly higher rainfall than much of the central and eastern parts of the state, up to 24 inches of precipitation annually compared to the 8 to 12 inches common throughout much of Montana east of the Continental Divide. That explains why early settlers, seeing the lush green fields, led them to call the place "Valley of the Flowers.
Water in the Gallatin Valley is a scarce resource with steadily increasing value. While agricultural commodity prices are hitting new highs, the recreational-residential value of water, especially for fly-fishing and waterside home lots, has also increased dramatically. Water rights here go with the land. When one buys a farm or ranch, water value is capitalized into land prices. Land without irrigation is far less expensive than farms with plentiful water. Clearly, water is valuable.
The Enterprise Ranch is blessed with “Old Water” (dating from 1866 and 1882) from the Kleinschmidt Canal, several springs, and 2 creeks. The ranch is in a conservation easement and each of its 4 parcels comprising it has water.
Daily life on the ranch often involves watching trout and other wildlife, working with farm machinery, or adjusting irrigation from a canal built privately through Enterprise in 1883-85. Initially it was known as the Gallatin Bozeman Canal, then the Kleinschmidt, and now the West Gallatin Canal. More than a mile of it runs through the ranch which has secure water rights, even in dry years, and reserves some of it for wild trout.
What’s more, a small spring creek rises on ranch land. In about 1900, it was destroyed to increase crop land by piping it into Wortman Creek. John Baden has been restoring it over the past 29 years and it now flows through several trout rich ponds.
The springs’ flow dramatically increases a week after the canal is turned on in May. It’s clear, 54º water provides excellent West Slope Cutthroat habitat. Rainbow and Brown trout also spawn in the ranch’s spring creek.