BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#265: Oct. 2, 2022
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Brats & Brews & BRTU - October 20. |
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The Art of Monte Dolack - Vision-Myth-Mystery. There will be a drawing for a copy at the Oct 20 meeting. Source: Monte Dolack Fine Art. |
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There will be Brats & Brews & BRTU on October 20 at the Hamilton Elks Lodge starting at 6:15 PM. Come on down as we kick off our first general meeting since February 2020.
The Elks are well known for their brats - cooked in beer and then finished on the grill, and they have offered to cook some up on the 20th. For $10, you will be able to get a brat and one of the brews that the Elks offer at their full service bar. They will start taking orders at 6:15 but the number is limited, so plan on getting there in plenty of time before the meeting begins at 7:00.
After the program, there will be a special drawing for a copy of The Art of Monte Dolack - Vision-Myth-Mystery. This is a new hard cover book that collects more than 180 well known and privately held pieces of artwork by this uniquely Montana artist. We will also be giving away some BRTU caps featuring the current logo.
And the program will be special, too. Brant Oswald will give a very interesting presentation about Paradise Valley After the Flood. The floods caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure up and down the Yellowstone, but you are likely to be pleasantly surprised about impacts on the fishing. Brant is often referred to as "a guide's guide" due to his sophisticated approach to casting and flyfishing. He has been very busy this past season and has documented a lot of the changes to the spring creeks as well as the river itself.
If you make it down for a brat & a brew, you'll get a chance to visit with Brant - a brat & brew with Brant.
The public is invited to attend all BRTU events and there is no charge for admission.
Here is the list of the upcoming BRTU programs so that you can mark them down on your calendar.
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Thursday, November 17, 2022 - Morgan Case, Trout Unlimited In-Stream Flow Specialist. Saving Trout with a Lawbook.
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Thursday, January 19, 2023 - Casey Hackathorn, Trout Unlimited Upper Clark Fork Program Manager. Restoring Native Trout to the Upper Clark Fork.
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Thursday, February 16, 2023 - Birch Fett. Secure River Golden Dorado.
- March 2023 - pending.
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Thursday April 20, 2023. Jason Lindstrom, MFWP. Bitterroot River Report.
Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar now! The public is invited to attend all BRTU events and there is no charge for admission.
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Get Your Feet Wet on Lost Horse Creek on October 8. |
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UM Grad Student Brett Oliver doing some field work. Source: U. Montana. |
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Dr. Payton Gardner doing some measurements on a stream slightly larger than Lost Horse Creek. Source: U. Montana. |
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Dr. Payton Gardner, Associate Professor of Hydrogeology at UM and the Associate Editor of The Journal of Hydrology at UM received a grant for continuous recording flow measurement devices on Lost Horse, Mill and Bass Creeks. The devices will be placed on US Forest Service property.
Thanks to Michael Howell of the Bitterroot River Protection Association, BRTU members have been invited on October 8 for a morning of stream gaging on Lost Horse Creek west of Hamilton. The goal for the day is to provide informal instruction on how to measure stream flow in Lost Horse Creek and to have a conversation about the science that UM is conducting in the Bitterroot.
UM Geoscience Grad Student Brett Oliver will be the instructor. Brett is studying watershed hydrology in the Bitterroot Mountains.
Volunteers should plan to meet at Red Rooster in Hamilton between 7:30 and 8:00 am on Saturday, October 8. This will give us all a chance to introduce ourselves.
At 8:00 AM, we will caravan to the gaging site on Lost Horse Creek. The gage is right where the road crosses a bridge to Lick Creek and Lake Como; the drive takes ~20 minutes. Once at the site Brett will introduce the project and provide instruction on how to do stream gage measurements. Stream gaging will take about 2 hours and we will try to leave the site by 11 am. People familiar with the location can simply drive there directly.
The site on Lost Horse Creek is also just above a fish screen that the Clark Fork Coalition is installing on a diversion, so the data from this site may be extremely useful.
Please bring the following items:
- water
- sunscreen
- snack
- waders and wading boots (if you have them, if not we will still provide an educational experience from the banks)
- warm base layers (especially if wading: a fleece, long underwear, a change of socks)
- appropriate outerwear
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Painted Rocks End of Season Update. |
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It will be next summer before water pours over the spillway at Painted Rocks Reservoir as in the picture on the left. And the lake now is looking more like the scene on the right.
DNRC Engineer Larry Schock sent out his final report on Sept 30.
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to send out a quick update regarding the releases from Painted Rocks Reservoir.
The last of the Contract Water will have been delivered by October 1st and additional flow reductions will begin of Sunday afternoon 10/2.
After the Sundays reduction there will be a series of adjustments made over the next week to 10 days for reservoir management purposes in order to match outflows to the inflows. The current inflows are in the 70 cfs. range.
Thank you for your time in attending to this matter and have a good weekend.
Larry A. Schock
DNRC MRO WRD
Civil Engineering Specialist
406 542 5885
As I noted in an earlier newsletter, or over 30 years, the contracted water in the lake, assisted by the cooperation between MFWP, the Painted Rocks Water Users Association, anglers, and conservation groups, like BRTU, has kept the Bitterroot fishing while other streams in the state have been closed. A special thanks from the fish and the anglers to Larry, River Commissioner J.R. Iman and MFWP Biologist Jason Lindstrom whose hard work and dedication kept water in the river while satisfying the irrigators' needs.
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A nice spread on Tincup Creek. Courtesy: Seth Cooley |
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This issue's Picture of the Week was again provided by TU supporter and ardent angler, Seth Cooley. Seth is making the rounds of all the creeks as the fall closes in.
Seth took this photo on Tincup Creek yesterday. He had hiked up the trail a bit to try for some of the fabled but elusive Tincup cutthroat. He won't tell me how the fishing was on this showery day.
However, an avid mushroom hunter, Seth chanced upon a nice pod of puffball mushrooms. These are great eating 'shrooms, but it is critical to distinguish them from another similar looking mushroom which is poisonous. The article tells you how to tell them apart.
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 most cases I plan to not to use "grip and grin" photos, but rather pictures of fish in the water or net.
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One more week to submit an entry for this BRTU Puzzler.
This week's BRTU Puzzler was submitted by Otis B. Driftwood from Hamilton. Mr. Driftwood was hiking near Baker Lake when his partner, Mrs. Claypool, noticed this specimen in the duff near the falls between Baker and Middle Lake. They had to return for a night at the opera and did not have time to look for additional ones.
The Puzzler is to identify the specimen with both the common and binomial designation, and to describe how it got its common name.
The first person to make a correct identification will win the BRTU Puzzler.
The BRTU Puzzler now has a new 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 the big online services?
If you have a cool fishing, outdoor activity, or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. 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 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 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
Vacant, Treasurer;
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
JuliAnne Thomas; E-mail: thomasjulianneh@gmail.com
Vacant; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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