LANDER - Negotiations over the 500,000 acre feet of senior water rights annually belonging to the Wind River Indian Reservation tribes are well under way, although tribal and state leaders aren't revealing much.

The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone won that water right in a titanic legal struggle that was finally resolved in the U.S. Supreme Court. Much of the water has long been used by irrigation districts in Fremont County.

At a question-and-answer session this week in Fort Washakie, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he was looking for state and federal involvement in contributing money to put the tribes' water rights to work. The key is whether negotiations can wind up with something to benefit the tribes and other Fremont County users.

"It has to be to the benefit of all, or it will be too easy to kill," Freudenthal said.

The governor said he'd like to see the federal government pay for water improvements and projects that benefit the tribes, while the state could pay for projects to benefit the non-Indian irrigation districts.

Discussions have addressed a range of issues, including instream water flows to re-establish the Wind River fishery, drinking water systems for the reservation, storage reservoirs and improvements to irrigation systems to maximize conservation and efficiency.

Freudenthal said he was more than content to let the locals iron out all the details.

Earlier, the governor said the tribes had "the best water rights in the state," and asked for patience as the negotiations proceed, because the outcome will be critically important to Wyoming.

"I'm convinced that our future will revolve around water," Freudenthal said.

On Friday, the Legislature's Select Committee on Tribal Relations received a wide range of information about water issues and concerns during hearings in Lander.

Cassel Weeks of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council said the tribes are concerned that the "clock is ticking and solutions are becoming more expensive" regarding water projects in the Wind River drainage.

Weeks complained that the antiquated irrigation system on the reservation is in terrible shape, with massive water losses n up to 60 percent n in unlined ditches. Such losses have created wetlands that have damaged otherwise good agricultural lands with both seepage and alkaline contamination, Weeks said.

"There's no point in building dams if we can't deliver the water," he said.

Weeks said there also has to be recognition that drinking water and recreation, as well as irrigation, are important uses. Weeks also noted that Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs off of the reservation often have nice recreation facilities, but that reservation reservoirs don't.

Weeks added that the reservation sees little or no benefits from Bureau of Reclamation or from Bureau of Indian Affairs water management projects. He complained that the operations and maintenance fees collected by the BIA are largely spent on paperwork and salaries, not on irrigation system improvements.

Help may be on the way, thanks to state and federal programs focused in upgrading the irrigation systems on the reservation.

Mike Besson, director of the Wyoming Water Development Commission, said rehab work will start in the fall on the reservation's irrigation systems. He said construction costs have risen drastically, but added the work would dramatically increase the system's efficiency and conserve water.

"When you replace a open ditch with pipe, your operations and maintenance costs go way down," Besson said. As soon as the irrigation season stops, work will begin on the diversion gates, he said.

Mitch Cottenoir, water chairman for the Eastern Shoshone, said the tribal water engineer's office will take the lead. Everything will be coordinated through the state, BIA and the tribal water office, he said.

Cottenoir said it has been three years since money for the project was appropriated, with another $1.75 million coming for construction.

"This is an ongoing process," he said. Cottenoir expressed the hope that the Legislature and the state's congressional delegation would keep the money coming.

Brodie Farquhar is a freelance writer based in Lander. He can be reached at {M7brodiefarquhar@hotmail.com.