LIVINGSTON — Montana’s water rights regulator has filed a lawsuit against Crazy Mountain Ranch, alleging that the private Shields Valley guest ranch has been illegally watering its golf course.
In a 209-page lawsuit, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation argues that Crazy Mountain Ranch “does not have a valid water right” to irrigate the 112-acre golf course it started constructing in 2023. The agency is asking the 6th Judicial District Court in Park County to issue a temporary restraining order halting Crazy Mountain Ranch’s irrigation of approximately 35 acres of golf course turf.
The lawsuit was filed on July 11 — the same day that the agency ordered the ranch to “cease and desist its unlawful irrigation practices,” which DNRC said started in June of 2024. The agency is bringing the courts into the enforcement equation to pursue an injunction against Crazy Mountain Ranch and levy fines against the company. A little-used state law allows regulators or judges to impose fines of up to $1,000 per day against someone using water illegally. Such fines are then deposited into a DNRC account dedicated to enforcement.
The complaint includes a timeline of efforts by Crazy Mountain Ranch to shift how and where it’s using its considerable rights to Rock Creek and Rock Lake water. The lawsuit also contains a dozen complaints neighboring irrigators have filed against Crazy Mountain Ranch, as well as email exchanges between DNRC and Crazy Mountain Ranch’s attorney, Peter Scott. As recently as June 30, Scott wrote in an email to a DNRC enforcement agent that his client would not stop irrigating its golf course “because of the damage that doing so would cause to a complex and costly project that is the subject of prior and pending change applications.”
In a July 16 email to MTFP, Scott said Crazy Mountain Ranch voluntarily shut off its golf course irrigation July 10 — the day before DNRC filed its lawsuit. Scott also wrote that his client is working with the state to develop a consent not to use Rock Creek and Rock Lake water on the golf course while the change applications are being processed. This would “obviate the need for DNRC proceeding with its actions” — the lawsuit — he said.
Asked to confirm that DNRC is in conversation with Crazy Mountain Ranch regarding a consent order, an agency spokesperson wrote in a July 17 email to MTFP that DNRC does not comment on ongoing litigation.
In complaints filed with the DNRC over the past two months, neighboring irrigators argue that Crazy Mountain Ranch has jeopardized their water rights, many of them more senior, by moving Rock Creek water into a different drainage. In documents included in the lawsuit, Scott disputed this assertion, arguing that there is no adverse impact to other users.
At least one petition filed by a neighboring landowner also alleges that the ranch is “overusing water and won’t shut down when their water right has expired” — a likely reference to Montana laws that give priority to those with the most senior water rights during times of shortage. Another complaint filed by Shields Valley cattle rancher Tim Sundling argues that “failure to act on this illegal water use will set a precedent to all future water uses.”
The 18-hole golf course Crazy Mountain Ranch is constructing is projected to open to the ranch’s members in 2026. Crazy Mountain Ranch, which was sold to a subsidiary of the company that owns the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club in 2021, plans to finish an additional par-3 course in 2027. In a June 25 email to DNRC, Scott noted that those timelines may change since his client has pursued a “pause” on additional sod deliveries. He added that the golf course is irrigated with “state-of-the-art technology that allows the ranch to track and manage water use as conservatively as possible.”
Scott also indicated in that email that Crazy Mountain Ranch may truck up to 110,000 gallons of water per week “from one or more area depots” to keep the sod that’s already planted alive. Hauling that volume of water would require between 15 and 35 round trips per day, he wrote. Scott confirmed in a July 16 email to MTFP that the water trucking has begun, but declined to say where Crazy Mountain Ranch is sourcing the water.
Erica Lighthiser, co-director of Park County Environmental Council, questioned whether the water transfer is legal given that removals from another basin could adversely affect other water users.
“I can’t imagine that is an OK thing to do — to transfer water from another basin without any kind of process or approvals,” Lighthiser said in a phone conversation with MTFP.
DNRC confirmed on July 16 that Crazy Mountain Ranch has sought access to 4.41 acre-feet of water groundwater — or approximately 1.4 million gallons — through the exempt well process. Unlike other water uses the DNRC oversees, exempt wells do not require assurance that new withdrawals won’t adversely impact other water users if the total volume withdrawn is below 10 acre-feet. Crazy Mountain Ranch told neighboring irrigators in a May meeting that irrigating the golf course, which will span 112 acres when complete, is estimated to require 258 acre-feet of water.
One-third of the state is in severe or extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Rich Sarrazin, the water commissioner assigned to ensure that irrigators on Rock Creek aren’t withdrawing more water than they’re entitled to, did not respond to MTFP’s questions regarding recent enforcement actions taken against Crazy Mountain Ranch.
Other defendants listed on the lawsuit include Big Sky-area developer Lone Mountain Land Co., LMLC Vice President of Development Mike DuCuennois and LMLC Senior Vice President of Accounting Mike Bourret.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on July 17, 2025, with additional information from Crazy Mountain Ranch and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
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