BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#250: Mar. 20, 2022
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Helpers Needed for Bitterroot Buggers This Tuesday! |
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The first tying session for the 2022 Bitterroot Buggers class will be from 6:30 - 8:00 PM Tuesday evening. All sessions will be at the Hamilton School District's Keystone Enrichment Program facility on Madison between 5th and 6th Streets. Look for the blue door with the painting on it.
The orientation session last Tuesday very well. Joe Byrne kicked it off with an overview of the program before the masked crowd of girls and boys divided in half. One group watched retired MFWP biologist Chris Clancy give an overview of aquatic insects and the flies designed to imitate them as the other group worked with MFWP Fisheries Technician Leslie Nyce as she went over fish identification and native fish. The plastic fish mounts were an especially big hit with the kids and the parents. At the end of the meeting, Joe went over the tools of tying. A very well behaved and attentive set of young people and they are going to be ready to rumble on Tuesday.
This week the kids will be learning the Black Wooly Bugger - the group's name sake fly! We are in urgent need of helpers to assist the kids with the tying. I would urge you to assist with our flagship youth program. This newsletter goes out to over 750 people and it would be marvelous if a few came down each Tuesday to join the small number of regulars. It is very gratifying to see these young people catch on to flytying and learn about conservation. You need not be an experienced tier to make a big difference.
BRTU high school board member Ty Balser, a Bugger alum, will be teaching the Advanced Class. And one of adult board members is also a Buggers alum. This program pays dividends, so come and invest!
Supply chain issues have delayed our shipment of quality tying vises, so if you can come Tuesday, perhaps you can bring a vise down for the kids to use.
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The response to the essay in High Country News by Peter W. Fong was nothing short of astonishing. In his essay, Peter relates an incident that happened to him while wade fishing in summer 2019 near Poker Joe Fishing Access Site. In the essay, he relates his own experience with racism and reflects on the origin of the name of the access site where it occurred.
Almost 200 readers clicked on the link and read that essay - at least twice as many as clicked on a previous story. Several wrote to tell me how appalled they were that some thing like this had happened. I sent Peter a copy of the newsletter and he thanked me for promoting the essay, saying how hard it had been to write it. He promised to get in touch next time he's back in Montana, but he now calls Morocco his primary home and said that his "main gig" is head guide for Mongolia River Outfitters. Check out that website and you will be struck how much the landscape looks like southwestern Montana, particularly the Big Hole Valley. And the fish......
If any of you would be interested in helping to develop a program to promote diversity in flyfishing and conservation locally, drop me a note. We might be able to get something important started.
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Raffle for Svaroski Binocs Brings in Bucks! |
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Yesterday at a planning meeting, BRTU Board Member Marissa Sowles collected all the entries from the the website. After some e-prestidigitation in presence of a number of reliable witnesses, she produced the name of the winner.
The winner was.... Actually the plan is to get a photo of the winner with their binoculars and make the announcement in a future newsletter. So, if you haven't heard, it wasn't you, and for the record, it wasn't me either! So much for buying a bunch of tickets, I guess.
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets. The raffle netted over $1000 for our coffers.
Stay tuned for another raffle before fishing season starts. The prize will be....
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Wrap up BRTU Meeting on Painted Rocks! |
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Water spills over the dam of a full Painted Rocks reservoir. |
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Another view of water spilling over the dam and the lake at full pool. |
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During the winter, a small pool of water is maintained in the dam to protect the outlet works when the water freezes. |
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A view of the dam outlet and low pool of water near the very end of an irrigation season. |
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Four speakers discussed different aspects of Painted Rocks Lake and its management at last Thursday's BRTU virtual meeting. In spite of the fact it was St Paddy's Day, about 40 people tuned in.
Long-time DNRC engineer Larry Schock gave a great historical overview of the dam itself and how water is released. He explained how the life span of this reservoir is longer than many others because it is located high in the drainage and has not silted in as much. The dam impounds about 32,000 acre-feet at full pool. 15,000 a-f of that water is leased by MFWP and 10,000 by the BItterroot Water Users Association. The remaining water is left in the dam each year to protect the dam and its outflow works.
Larry also answered the question about why it is not possible to raise the dam and increase the impoundment. In addition to the huge expense, raising the dam would inundate the road and many private structures. However, the main impediment is that there is no unallocated water to store and the basin is closed to new appropriations; in other words, all the water in the Bitterroot River drainage is legally spoken for.
River Commissioner/Dam Tender JR Iman detailed the history of agricultural use of the lake water and how the water shares are called for and allocated. JR uses transparency and cooperation to satisfy the needs of the various users and seek cooperation. JR pointed out that the stored water is in addition to the decreed rights that the agricultural users have, and that those decreed rights would be sufficient to drain the river. So their long-term cooperation is paramount if the Painted Rocks water is to make it downstream and maintain flows at Bell Crossing.
Tucker Crossing Ranch Manager Roger Raynal spoke for the Bitterroot Water Users Association and seconded the comments of the previous speakers. He also asked for TU members and other sportsmen/recreationists to come help when the irrigators do their annual cleanup at the toe of the dam. Stay tuned for information about that work day and the annual BBQ! Or let Roger know you'd like to help.
Finally, MFWP Fisheries Biologist Jason Lindstrom spoke about the Painted Rocks water releases and the extremely beneficial effect that they exert on both the hydrograph and the thermograph. These impacts are most demonstrable in the West Fork, but some benefit is observable farther downstream.
One thing that shone through is that all the speakers are committed to this process that makes the Bitterroot River such a special place. The water is a balm for the fishery and fishing even in our increasingly inhospitable climate. We owe Larry, JR, Roger, and Jason a hearty thanks for their hard work and dedication!
It was not possible to record the meeting, but since this is always a topic of great interest, look for similar programs in the future.
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BRTU Caps Available Soon!
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The BRTU caps all sold out last summer and they are no longer available.
However, despair not. A new batch is on hand and will be for sale at the first in person BRTU meeting. They will only be available through BRTU.
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This issue's Picture of the Week was submitted by my friend Seth Cooley.
Old Bitterroot legends talk about a dinosaur-like creature that haunts Skalkaho Creek in the dead of winter. Seth Cooley may have captured a picture of the Skalkaho ice monster while cross-country skiing up the road there about 3 weeks ago. The natural ice sculpture does resemble the bleached out skull of an ancient creature, so who knows?
If you are curious how the occurrence of fossils might have led ancient Greek and Roman to create stories about mythical creatures like the griffin, you might enjoy Adrienne Mayor's great book The First Fossil Hunters. It is hard to put down! Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton got my copy and I bet they'd be happy to get one for you, too.
Please send your photos and stories to me. Your picture might end up as the Picture of the Week! Any photos related to fishing and conservation are welcome. We prefer pictures of released fish in the water rather than in the hand, but won't turn down a great photo.
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This week's BRTU Puzzler comes from a recent news story.
The Puzzler is to identify the fish, provide the common name as well as the Latin binomial designation, explain where this particular specimen was caught, and why that is such a worry.
If you have a cool fishing or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. We prefer photos of actual fish in the water rather than in the hand, but won't decline any.
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Monte Dolack BRTU prints
now available at Joe's Studio.
A small number of Publisher's Proofs of the limited edition "Bitterroot River-Lost Horse Bend" by Monte Dolack are now 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 sponsor of our banquets, 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 Clayton at 406-543-0054.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BRTU board meetings are usually being held on ZOOM. They are open to all BRTU members. Date and time vary, so please contact Chapter President Dave Ward if you would like to log in and learn what is going on.
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
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
Ty Balser; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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