BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#242: Jan. 3, 2022
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These are the trout fry in Andrew Shulstad's classroom at Darby High School. They'll stay in the net until they all come up for the food, then comes the critical aspect of monitoring water quality in the tank as the fish develop and mature. Thanks to donors like you, we were able to expand Trout in the Classroom to Darby and Florence this year. |
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A group of Bitterroot Buggers learn what makes a good fly from BRTU Past President Doug Nation. Your donation will help us keep the Buggers going. |
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Thanks for Helping BRTU Help the Trout! |
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BRTU would like to thank everyone who responded to our year end call for help! Thanks to your generosity, we are better positioned to complete our ongoing efforts and also to expand projects and activities to do even more in 2022.
Over the course of the year you can expect to hear more about our featured projects incuding:
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Trout in the Classroom. You've seen some of the photos in our BRTU E-Newsletters. We now have four high schools in the Bitterroot Valley that are actively engaged in the program. We want to expand the program to six or more classrooms in 2022.
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Bitterroot Buggers program. Once again, we will be doing our flagship Buggers program where we teach young men and women the basics of fly tying, casting, and fishing. They can all leave the program with a nice fly rod outfit. More details in the story below.
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Stream improvement projects. We successfully completed a major improvement project at the West Fork Fishing Access Site in conjunction with the Bitterroot National Forest, as well as a stream project on a ranch east of Hamilton. We can do more of these projects in cooperation with the Forest Service, other agencies and private landowners.
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Aquatic invertebrate inventory. We plan to engage with an aquatic invertebrate or "bug" inventory on the main stem of the Bitterroot as another way to track stream health. This program could tie in nicely with our Trout in the Classroom program.
Remember, BRTU is an all volunteer organization. Your support and involvement are the keys to BRTU being a robust and successful organization.
And even if you missed the 2021 deadline, you can still help us help the trout by donating on line or by sending a check to:
Bitterroot Trout Unlimited
PO Box 262
Hamilton, Montana 59840
For questions or more details, please contact BRTU President Dave Ward.
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A photo showing the extensive dewatering of the Madison River below Hebgen Lake dam. Source: Kelly Galloup. |
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Dead trout are visible in the dewatered stretch of the Madison River. Source: Kelly Galloup. |
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Update: Dam Debacle on the Madison- FERC Drops the Hammer on NorthWestern Energy!
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As reported in the 2 previous issues of BRTU E-News and in recent media reports, a sudden drop in flows from the Hebgen Lake dam that NorthWestern Energy (NWE) owns led to a severe dewatering of the Madison River downstream from Hebgen Lake. The issue, a spillway gate failure, was reported by alert anglers on the morning of November 30 and lasted several days until repairs were made to the dam outworks.
Anglers from around the region rushed to the site in an effort to rescue stranded trout, and although fishing was reopened shortly afterwards, the impact to brown trout redds and the fishery in general will not be apparent for some time. Montana TU discouraged people from fishing in that stressed region of the river. Concerns were also raised about the catastrophe that would result to the Madison River and the Madison River Valley if this dam ever failed.
The excellent article in the Billings Gazette by Brett French details the points that NWE still needs to address in a root cause analysis, and suggests some measures they should consider. A couple of stipulations are:
- NWE should have alarms to alert the company when flows below the dam drop suddenly.
- NWE should be able to verify remotely any flow issues.
Actually, you should read the entire article. I suspect that you will be as stunned as I was at the obvious measures that are not already required!
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The finished and fanciful fish that were created by members of RWR at Clayworks. |
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Reel Women of the 'Root Create Some Trout!
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of BRTU activities to an abrupt standstill in 2021! However, BRTU's Reel Women of the 'Root (RWR) were not deterred!.
Coordinated by BRTU Board member Sheila Bryan, RWR scheduled an creative November event at Clayworks in Hamilton.
Expert clayworker Robin instructed the group in making a clay trout. They completed their trout in two different sittings in November and had a great time. They learned a ton, got their creative juices flowing with a little liquid courage - a glass of VINO always helps!
This was a first time working with clay for many of the RWR and all pledged to do it again for sure.
Shelia pointed out that RWR welcome any additional ideas for gatherings and encouraged people to sign up for RWR and be notified about future events by contacting her.
Sheila was adamant when she said "Stepping out and trying something new with a great group of women is a rewarding experience."
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BRTU Meetings to Resume in January 2022 - Not so Fast!!!!
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The cases of the COVID-19 in Montana are starting to surge dramatically. This is likely the result of the highly contagious omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and there are some predictions that the case numbers will increase even more rapidly after all the holiday travel. Ravalli County is at particular risk due to the low vaccine uptake. Therefore, after consultation with the speakers and BRTU Board, we have decided to postpone the January 2022 meeting.
This meeting was to have been a panel discussion with 4 speakers about Painted Rocks Lake, and was likely to draw a large crowd due to the intense interest in this topic. It was rated simply too risky to hold a meeting in person, and the number of speakers made a virtual format problematic. We will reschedule this meeting later this spring, when we will also have a better idea of our snowpack projections.
If conditions permit, the February meeting will be in person, or we will do that one on line.
Thanks for your patience.
Although the emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 has injected some uncertainty, by hook or by crook, we are planning to resume BRTU Chapter meetings in January!
The meetings will be held at 7:00 PM in the large auditorium at Hamilton City Hall - the Bedford Building. The board selected this venue so that we can achieve a measure of social distancing and still accommodate a decent sized audience.
It is our intent to have these meetings in person requesting that people be vaccinated, wear masks and maintain distance, but we may be able a hybrid in-person/virtual format if necessary. Final details will be provided as the date approaches.
Here is the confirmed schedule for the spring meetings:
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January 20, 2022 - "How does it work?: a panel on Painted Rocks Lake," featuring MFWP biologist Jason Lindstrom, River Commissioner/Dam Tender J.R. Iman, DNRC Engineer Larry Schock, and irrigator Roger Raynal.
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February 17, 2022 - "The Upper Bitterroot/West Fork Recreation Plan: status report and future prospects," Chrissy Oschell and Jason Lindstrom, MFWP
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March 17, 2022 - "The mechanics and ergonomics of flycasting, including exercise to enhance casting and wading," Chris Andersen, Physical Therapist.
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April 21, 2022 - "What's up with President Jefferson's River?," Chris Edgington, Jefferson Watershed Project Manager, Montana TU
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BRTU Caps Available in January!
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The BRTU caps all sold out last summer and they are no longer available at Chuck Stranahan's shop.
However, despair not. A new batch is on order and will be for sale at the next BRTU meeting. They will only be available through BRTU.
Thanks to Chuck for helping us sell out so quickly!
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Photo courtesy Scott Van Dalen |
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This week's Picture of the Week was submitted by Scott Van Dalen.
Scot t was fishing the 'Miracle Mile" of the North Platte River in Wyoming in early December. This stretch is a very fertile tailwater between 2 reservoirs that sports some very impressive spawning runs.
Scott reported that he "...caught a whole bunch of spawning Wyoming Brown’s as they entered the river…and Rainbows too. Seemed like we walked a Mile to catch them though. Eggs."
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 was submitted by Les Korcala. The gorgeous image is of the last fly that Les tied during the year of 2021, and you can likely deduce that it is named the Golden Ibis. The fly is part of Les's effort to recreate all the fly plates in Ray Bergman's Trout.
The Puzzler is to identify the origin of the name of the fly, and all the materials used in the dressing. Send your entries to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom.
The first correct entry will win the BRTU Puzzler. Chuck Stranahan has generously offered a selection of his personally hand-tied flies to winners of the BRTU Puzzler.
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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