In summer 2024, after years of work toward a diversion reduction agreement and a 20-year split-season water lease agreement with local landowners, we successfully decommissioned the Valiton Ditch and legally protected 13 cfs of new instream flow water in the Clark Fork River which would have been previously diverted into the ditch during the hottest, driest weeks of the year. CFC brokered split-season lease agreements with all Valiton Ditch water users over the last couple years, and we saw an immediate improvement in river conditions in this stretch after shutting down this ditch during the 2024 irrigation season. We also improved a diversion to help fish passage. This project strikes a balance between agricultural production needs while also keeping water flowing in the river when it’s needed most.