BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#271: Nov. 23, 2022
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Fish Creek Recreation Plan Needs Comments! |
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A spring or early summer view of Fish Creek. Courtesy: Bill Pfeiffer. |
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A summer view up the Fish Creek drainage. Source: MFWP. |
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Map of Fish Creek State Park. Source: MFWP. |
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A gorgeous pool on Fish Creek. Source; MFWP. |
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About 35 years ago Lucy Tompkins and I decided to take a shortcut to Missoula by driving up US 12 past Lolo Hot Springs and then down the Fish Creek Road to I-90 and back to Missoula. Young Men and Fire opens with a youthful Norman Maclean almost succumbing to a fire in the upper Fish Creek drainage, and the description made me curious to see the upper part of that drainage. I had fished the section close to the Interstate a number of times after slipping on the "greased cannonballs" on Rock Creek one too many times. The upper part of Fish Creek was really stunning, but some of the private property signs were a little unfriendly. It was a hot day and the fishing was not very good, but Lucy caught a very large cutthroat on a hopper and I was scared by an even larger bull trout that emerged out of a big logjam to chase a streamer near the bridge about 1/2 way down.
Fast forward to today when the lower Fish Creek drainage is part of the 5600 acre Fish Creek State Park which is in turn surrounded by the 35,317 acre MFWP Fish Creek Wildlife Management Area. Fish Creek is presently one of the poorest kept secrets in Western Montana. It is a terrific place to wade fish and the bottom is not as treacherous as Rock Creek. Fish Creek traverses a narrow canyon into the lower Clark Fork downstream of the Alberton Gorge Rapids. Some intrepid anglers have either waded, pulled a raft, or hiked a very exposed trail down the canyon to this unique spot on the Clark Fork.
As reported in the Missoulian, MFWP is currently gathering watershed planning public comment regarding recreational use in the Fish Creek drainage. Montana TU has concerns that some of the ideas will degrade the recreational experience and endanger habitat in this essential native and wild trout spawning tributary. According to Montana TU Staff, there are comments coming in from non-fish friendly interests, like mountain biking clubs interested in expanding trails and dispersed camping on the Creek. Dispersed camping is already a problem in the watershed, and anywhere there are people, there is poop. There will likely be a push for more floating access, which will likely translate into less large woody debris and logjams in the water for fish and wildlife. This would be especially deleterious for bull trout in the drainage.
You can read the Montana TU Action Alert, but it is essential that this area is managed to preserve its excellent habitat values and resilience to climate change for native species. Two issues included in FWP’s survey are particularly important to us and MTU is asking concerned folks to comment in support of lessening the impacts to this sensitive area. The comment deadline is December 20!
1. Floating Closure – We support a floating closure on Fish Creek. Large woody debris is common in this watershed and essential to native trout populations. We are concerned angler use during a relatively short floating season will result in the removal of logs to maintain navigability, thus harming the fishery. Please support wade-only fishing access on the Creek.
2. Developed Camp Sites Only – Dispersed camping already occurs on Fish Creek and increasing it will only have negative effects on future water quality. We believe camping in the drainage should be confined to developed camping areas with proper vault toilet facilities, to lessen impacts throughout the drainage to maintain clean, cold, complex, and connected water and habitat for both fish and wildlife.
To complete the survey, visit FWP’s Fish Creek Watershed Recreation Planning page for more information or use a direct link to the survey HERE. Please personalize your answers with the comment boxes provided to ensure your comments carry the most weight. When answering the questions, we ask that you strongly consider the values we hold dear: conserving, protecting, and restoring Montana’s wild and native trout. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Remember the comment period closes December 20, 2022.
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Great Attendance at November BRTU Meeting. |
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Photo courtesy Nicole Ballard. |
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The Teller Wildlife Refuge Education program was featured at last Thursday's BRTU meeting. More than 40 people attended and the brats sold out.
Nicole Ballard, Teller Wildlife Refuge Education Program Director, talked about her visionary approach to conservation education and finished up with a fun game game of Trout Jeopardy.
The special drawings raised over $150 for Nicole's programs. Several people have asked about Nicole's program, so here is the link to the Teller Wildlife Refuge website and Nicole's email address.
Here is the list of the future BRTU programs so that you can mark them down on your calendar. And yes, the Elks will be making brats each month!
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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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BRTU Meets Embrace A Stream Challenge! |
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Removal of this antiquated standpipe is part of the project. Source: Christine Brissette. |
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Replacement of this reed canary grass along North Burnt Fork Creek is another part of the project. With the Bitterroot's as backdrop, the students learn to keep their backcasts high. Source: Christine Brissette. |
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Last summer, BRTU's grant application ranked #1 in TU National's Embrace A Stream grant program and we were awarded nearly $10,000. Our project will put 450 trees and thousands of willows along North Burnt Fork Creek in fall 2023. It also builds on a major project that will remove an instream fish barrier on the refuge, and reconnect 2.5 miles of spawning habitat. This cool video, featuring TU's Christine Brissette, explains why this project is so important.
Thanks to some very generous donors, including from the Greater Boston TU Chapter, we collected more than $10,000 and doubled the grant. The funds will go towards the revegetation project on North Burnt Fork Creek as it flows through Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to everyone who chipped in to help us help the trout!
The trout will be the big beneficiaries of this incredible program to restore fish migration in North Burnt Fork Creek. If you'd like to learn more, make a donation, or find out about volunteer opportunites, please contact JuliAnn Thomas or Christine Brissette.
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Riley Gallagher is TU Alaska's new restoration biologist. TU has partnered with the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and hired Riley to lead the restoration work as the Forest moves away from logging towards conservation. Specifically he will design and prioritize fishery restoration projects in high value habitats. The Tongass is the largest Forest in the National Forest system, so Riley will be covering a lot of water. It looks like his hours off work will be rewarding, too.
Riley has ties to Montana because he did his undergraduate studies in Fisheries and Conservation Biology at the University of Montana, graduating in 2013. If you read the article, you can see a photo from his graduate work in Fisheries at the University of North Carolina. Donna met Riley while he was working as a guide for a Missoula outfitter.
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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This week's BRTU Puzzler comes from KUOW, a Public Radio station in the Seattle area. The UOW stands for University of Washington.
The Puzzler is to identify these little critters by their common name and binomial designation, to say why you should wash your hands after handling them, and why they made the news. If you are the first person to submit a correct answer, you will be the winner of this week's 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 than big online giants?
The winner will be able to claim their gift card by stopping in at 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. 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
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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