Water Rights & Land Ownership
Rosebud County straddles the Yellowstone main-stem (Forsyth is the county seat) and includes the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in the south (Lame Deer is the Tribal HQ). Colstrip — the coal town — sits in the western county. The Tongue River drains the southern county; Rosebud Creek and Sarpy Creek drain the central and western county. The Northern Cheyenne Water Rights Compact carries federally-reserved senior rights on reservation parcels.
Active state-administered rights pulled live from DNRC WRQS on 2026-06-01. Rosebud spans seven basins: 40C/40D (N margin), 42A/42B/42C (Tongue R.), 42K/42KJ (Yellowstone main & tribs). Northern Cheyenne Tribal compact rights administered separately.
Rosebud County Watershed Map
Search Rosebud County water rights
- Water right format:
- 42K 12345 00 (Yellowstone) · 42C (Tongue) · 42B (Tongue trib).
- Primary basins:
- 42K/KJ Yellowstone · 42C/B/A Tongue R · 40C/D N margin.
- Northern Cheyenne Compact:
- Federally-reserved Tribal water rights senior to most state priorities on reservation parcels — administered by Northern Cheyenne Tribal Water Resources.
- Tongue R. Reservoir:
- Just south in Wyoming; Tongue R. flow allocation involves MT-WY-Tribal compact.
- DNRC regional office:
- Miles City Regional Office, 406-234-0241.
- Clerk & Recorder:
- Rosebud County, 406-346-7318.
Irrigated Acres — USDA Census
Rosebud County reported 22,088 irrigated acres in the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, down from 38,683 in 2017 — a change of −16,595 acres (−42.9%). 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. Northern Cheyenne Tribal compact rights administered separately from state. Informational only.