BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#287: May 15, 2023
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Water coming over the spillway at Painted Rocks Lake. Source: Larry Schock. |
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The dramatic jump in flows at the Darby USGS gauge today is pretty evident. Source: USGS. |
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Every year, guides, irrigators, private anglers and the fish themselves, anxiously await the day that DNRC Engineer Larry Schock announces that Painted Rocks Dam has filled and that water is coursing down the spillway.
In 2023, that happened at 4:00 AM this morning, May 15. Larry reported the outflows as of this morning were 481 cfs, but were expected to increase give the extended forecast of warm weather.
Flows at the Darby gauge went from about 2180 cfs at 12:00 AM on May 9 to 3750 cfs at 6:15 PM today. So hold on to your oars and don that PFD if you are planning to compete in the West Fork rodeo.
Larry puts out periodic updates on the status of of reservoir inflows and outflows. You can receive these directly be dropping him an email. Larry will also be at the BRTU Stream Management Workshop next Thursday, May 25. See story farther down in in the newsletter.
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Teller Wildlife Refuge to host Youth Con-Ed Expo on May 20. |
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This year the event will feature more than 20 groups promoting conservation and recreation fun from a climbing wall, fly casting, archery ranges, trout fishing pond, interactive presentations and more! And the best part, its FREE to attend!
All ages are invited to join into the fun, but youth ages 18 and under will receive 10 free raffle tickets just by showing up! They will have the chance to win a new fly rod, archery equipment, camping gear, a brand new rifle, family memberships and so much more! Join us for a day to explore, discover and play with all things wildlife, conservation, and outdoor recreation!
Teller Wildlife Refuge is one of BRTU's oldest and most enduring conservation partners, and we have participated in many previous expos there. We will have a booth this year, too. We are looking for volunteers to help at the booth. If you can help, let Dave Ward know or just show up. The water is too high to fish, so why not come help out?
The event is free and will be Saturday, May 20 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The venue is the Barn at Teller, 1180 Chaffin Lane, Corvallis.
Be sure to wear a hat, slap on some sunscreen and bring a water bottle.
Here is the link for more information on the Expo.
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Plan to attend BRTU's May 25 Stream Management Workshop. |
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Downed trees like this offer both good habitat for trout and a significant hazard for floaters. The woody debris task force was formed to balance both. Source: BRTU. |
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If you were at Painted Rocks Lake today, you'd have seen a sight like this as water tops the spillway. Source: Larry Schock. |
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Failure to scout a route and be watchful for hazards can lead to situations like this. When water is high, these hazards come up PDQ! Source: BRTU. |
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A comfortable and convenient personal floatation device like this might save your life today. They are rarely seen on the Bitterroot. Source: Whygin Argus. |
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The Bitterroot River is likely the most dynamic stream in the state. Every year channels migrate, banks erode, trees fall into the water, logjams form, gravel bars appear and new runs become apparent. These features are what make the river such a terrific and scenic fishery, but they also introduce hazards for floaters and headaches for irrigators and landowners.
In our valley, the management of issues like this primarily falls to the Bitterroot Conservation District, which is charged with administering Montana's Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975, also known as the 310 Law for the permits that are issued by the Conservation District. These are the permits that an irrigator is supposed to obtain before moving gravel around with a bulldozer, that a land owner is supposed to obtain before riprapping a bank, and a citizen is supposed to obtain before cutting out a logjam. In addition to the Conservation District, MFWP, DNRC, and the County Floodplain administrator play a role in the evaluation of projects and issuing of permits.
In order to clarify roles and responsibilities of stream management, BRTU is partnering with the Bitterroot Conservation District, MFWP, DNRC and the Bitterroot River Commissioner to host a free panel discussion on Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 PM at the Hamilton Elks Club.
There will be several panelists on hand to explain their role.
- Bitterroot Conservation District Supervisor Kent Myers will discuss the laws regulating activities in the streambed and floodplain. Kent will also describe the Woody Debris Task Force that was formed to address stream issues that impede floating, like logjams, and explain the proper and legal way to deal with downed trees.
- River Commissioner JR Iman and DNRC Engineer Larry Schock will report on the Painted Rocks water status and probable water release schedules. They will also describe the much needed repairs to the dam outlet works and the process for getting that done. It will take a lot of bake sales!
- Ben Dickinson, our new MFWP Region 2 Recreation Manager, will talk about boating safety and recreation issues.
- BRTU President Dave Ward will present some possible novel solutions for hazard notification that our chapter is working on.
This will be an extremely interesting and important meeting. Guides and outfitters are particularly encouraged to attend.
BRTU will be providing free brats to the first 30 attendees. For additional information, please contact BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward.
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A map delineating the West Fork Road (#473) above Painted Rocks Lake and Horse Creek Pass on the Idaho border. Sheep Creek is a small drainage off this extreme upper end of the West Fork, approximately at the sign SE SW Section 3 Mine. Painted Rocks Lake would be a bit north of Alta and Hughes Creek. Source: Mapcarta.
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The notorious Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California. Approximately 2000 X2600 meters. Source:GoogleEarth. |
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We are still waiting for additional substantive information on the proposed Sheep Creek Mine, but in the interim, here is an interesting article about environmental issues associated with some of the materials that go into the batteries of electric vehicles.
Since the announcement by the Utah based US Critical Materials, Corporation in March claiming that there was a "mother lode" of rare earth metals in the Sheep Creek drainage of the upper upper West Fork above Painted Rocks Lake, interest has remained intense.
The company's claims in the Sheep Creek area cover about 7 square miles. However, in an effort to understand and map the Sheep Creek and potential vicinal deposits, the US Geologic Survey will be doing aerial surveys in Montana and Idaho, which are described in this Missoulian article.
There is still no report that a Plan of Operation has been filed with the Bitterroot National Forest, so the course of action remains speculative. However, BRTU and Montana TU, as well as other groups, continue to monitor this latest snake oil project. The drainage downstream from the claims is home to populations of native cutthroat and bull trout. As a result, it is a mistake to discount this project which warrants watchful waiting.
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Becoming an Outdoor Woman is a national program designed to introduce woman to the full range of outdoors activities, from flyfishing to goose hunting to birding to boating to snowshoeing. The Montana program is hosted by MFWP and its popularity continues to grow.
The August 18-20, 2023 summer BOW will be at Greenough Park at Lubrecht Forest, and there will be a Nature Journaling workshop in the Bitterroot on June 24.
You can learn more at the BOW website or by emailing Kylie Kemble. There is a BOW email list that Kylie can sign you up for so you can try ice fishing next winter,
Please send me any fishing or conservation related photos to be considered for the "Picture of the Week." Make sure that the files are less than 5 mB in size. Note that in general I plan to not to use "grip and grin" photos, but rather pictures of fish in the water or net.
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This week's BRTU Puzzler is another by my intrepid and indefatigable friend Seth Cooley.
Seth shot this photo of an impressive waterfall on May 6. I cannot imagine what it must look like today!
The Puzzle is to identify the falls and describe the unique features of its canyon.
The first correct answer will win the BRTU Puzzler and a prize from the Puzzler's sponsor..
The BRTU Puzzler is fortunate to have a terrific sponsor - Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton. Chapter One is offering a $10 gift card to each winner but it must be picked up in person. The book store is a long time BRTU supporter and has an unbelievable inventory of books and magazines. If Chapter One doesn't have the tome you want, they can get it in a jiffy. Shouldn't we be patronizing local small independents rather than big online giants?
In fact, Chapter One has asked me to pass along an event coming up this Thursday, May 18 at 6:00 PM. Local backpacker and hiking author, Mark Wetherington, will be giving a presentation about ultralight backpacking here in the Bitterroots. The water is going to be high to approach, so drop by the book store.
If you have a cool fishing, outdoor activity, or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. The first correct entry will be the winner.
BRTU E-News will no longer publish grip and grin photos of native fish out of water but will highlight photos of actual fish in the water.
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Monte Dolack BRTU prints
now available at Joe's Studio.
A very few Publisher's Proofs of the limited edition "Bitterroot River-Lost Horse Bend" by Monte Dolack are still available at Joe's Studio. BRTU commissioned Monte Dolack in 2007 to create this iconic print of the Bitterroot River.
The remaining Publisher's Proofs are $375 and all proceeds support BRTU efforts to protect trout and streams.
Joe's Studio, a regular BRTU sponsor, is located in Hamilton at 220 Marcus Street (961-4586, joesstudio@aol.com)
The "U" in BRTU
Unlike many groups, BTRU has no paid staff. We are an entirely volunteer organization. We are always looking for new members to get involved in projects or to join our board and assist with maintaining our focus on native fish, clean healthy streams and education. If you would like to help out, please contact BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward. We could sure use your help!
In other words, how about putting a little "U" in BRTU?
If "U" are not already a member, "U" can join TU today by going to the the BRTU website. chapter number is #080. If you have a question about your membership, please call the Montana TU office at 406-543-0054.
The BRTU Mission statement is "To conserve, protect, and restore the Bitterroot River and it's watershed," directly in line with the Montana TU mission statement.
For your information, here is a tabulation of our current hard-working BRTU officers and board members.
BOARD OFFICERS
Donna Haglund; Vice President; E-mail: haglunddonna@gmail.com
Don Patterson, Treasurer; d5357mt@gmail.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
Joe Byrne; E-mail: byrnej@hsd3.org
Paul Stone; E-mail:
Vacant; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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Bitterroot Trout Unlimited| PO 262, Hamilton, MT 59840 | www.bitterroottu.org |
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