Water Rights & Land Ownership
Liberty County is high-plains wheat-and-cattle country along the Hi-Line — Chester is the county seat. The Marias River system drains most of the county south toward the Missouri; the Sweet Grass Hills (three distinctive buttes — West Butte, Gold Butte/Middle Butte, East Butte) rise in the north. Tiber Reservoir / Lake Elwell on the Marias backs water for downstream irrigation and is the county’s dominant surface-water feature.
Combine the DNRC WRQS water-rights record with the Montana Cadastral using the 17-digit geocode that links them.
Active rights pulled live from DNRC WRQS on 2026-06-01. Liberty spans four basins: 40F/40G (Milk side), 41N (Marias main), 41P (Marias tributary).
Liberty County Watershed Map
The Marias River exits Tiber Reservoir at the western county line and flows east-southeast across the county. Sage Creek and Whitlash Creek drain north from the Sweet Grass Hills toward Canada. Sweet Grass Creek drains south toward the Marias.
Search Liberty County water rights
- Water right format:
- 41N 12345 00 (Marias main) · 41P (Marias trib.) · 40F/40G (Milk side).
- Primary basins:
- 41N Marias main · 41P Marias trib · 40F/40G Milk side / northern slope.
- Tiber Reservoir:
- USBR Lower Marias Unit storage at the W edge — supplies the Marias for downstream Chouteau / Toole deliveries.
- Sweet Grass Hills note:
- Creeks on the north face flow to Canada; check international apportionment rules in dry years.
- DNRC regional office:
- Havre Regional Office, 406-265-5516.
- Clerk & Recorder:
- Liberty County, 406-759-5365.
Irrigated Acres — USDA Census
Liberty County reported 2,114 irrigated acres in the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, down from 7,017 in 2017 — a change of −4,903 acres (−69.9%). These are acres that actually received irrigation in the census year, not all land equipped for irrigation.
Source: USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Table 10 (irrigated land, acres). See the Measuring Montana Moisture overview →
Quick links
Data sources: Montana DNRC, MSL/DOR Cadastral, MBMG GWIC, USBR. Active rights pulled live from DNRC WRQS on 2026-06-01. Informational only.