We would all likely agree that the Bitterroot offers some of the most dependable flyfishing of any Montana river. A lot of factors intertwine to make this so, but high on the list have to be unique habitat and channel migration.

One of the more striking habitat features is the amount of woody debris that gets recruited into the waterways every year. Much of the wood comes from streamside trees that fall into the river and creeks every years as a result of blowdown or bank sloughing.

The wood in the water creates eddies, plunge pools and unimaginable hiding cover opportunities. The wood also can cause issues for rafters and canoers who are not wary or fail to scout their route. The urge to remove this vital habitat element can be strong, and as a result a Woody Debris Task Force was established in the valley. The Task Force is trying to come up with a way to keep the waterways safe while ensuring complying with the 310 Law. There will be an article about the Task Force in a future newsletter.

But this concern cannot overlook the critical role wood in the stream plays for fish. In fact, the Winter 2021 issue of Trout Line, Montana TU's newsletter, has an article called Trout Need "Good Wood" co-authored by BRTU Vice President Dave Ward and MTU Executive Director David Brooks.

Another important element in the BItterroot's singularity is the tendency of the river to wander back and forth. If you have lived here for more than a few years or have studied LiDAR maps of the Bitterroot Drainage created by National TU staffer Christine Brissette, you can't help but notice that the river has been all over the place, particularly below Angler's Roost.

The wandering waterway and the everchanging banks recruit trees as large woody debris but also create trout habitat as the banks undercut and slough. Bank sloughing is a natural feature of much of the river and reflects the river's natural tendency to migrate through its wide bed. The latter phenomenon often leads landowners to riprap the banks adjacent to their property. Of course, once a bank has been riprapped or otherwise "stabilized," the natural migration is stopped and this can have deleterious effects farther downstream. It should be recognized that this channel migration and bank sloughing are also natural features of a unique river.