News

How to Fish Responsibly This Summer

by Bill Pfeiffer

Montana is currently in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave and drought and our wild trout populations are feeling the heat. Many streams around the state are already under “Hoot Owl” fishing restrictions or full closures, earlier than we’ve ever seen these emergency regulations in the past. In this difficult time for our fisheries, it’s more important than ever that all anglers do what we can to limit our impact on this shared resource. We’ve complied a list of recommendations to help you decide when, where, and how to fish until things cool down.

Why is water temperature important?

Trout are cold blooded animals with a metabolism that depends directly on the temperature of the external environment. They also rely on highly oxygenated water and the warmer water gets, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold. Most trout species’ optimal temperature range is 55F-65F for maximum growth and health. For native bull trout that range is even colder. When water temperatures rise into the high 60s, trout begin to experience stress and hooking mortality rates increase. If temperatures remain above 70F for an extended period of time, trout begin to die, especially if they are caught and released.

What can I do to help our fisheries?

There are a number of ways you can fish responsibly this summer and protect our trout fisheries. Here’s just a few:

  • Check the MT FWP website every time you go fishing for “Hoot Owl” restrictions and river closures. On rivers with “Hoot Owl” closures, fishing is only permitted  between midnight and 2pm when water temperatures are coolest. New emergency regulations are coming out almost daily. Stay informed!
  • Use a stream thermometer when you fish, available at your local fly shop. Water temperatures change throughout the day with the coldest water occurring in the early morning. Take the temperature frequently throughout the day and when water temperatures rise above 67F, stop fishing. Here’s a short video we produced showing you how to properly take a water temp:

  • Always keep fish wet and release them quickly. Save your “grip and grin” photo sessions for the fall, when conditions improve.
  • Use heavier tippet and land fish quickly. Prolonged fight times in warm water place a high amount of stress on the fish and increase hooking mortality. This isn’t the time to see if you can break your personal best on your trusty 3wt.
  • Consider exploring high mountain streams and mountain lakes, where water temperatures stay cooler and give the big river fish a break.
  • Take the time to do some warm-water fishing. Carp, bass, and northern pike are fun to target on a fly rod!
  • Consider taking a break from fishing during this hot weather and find other ways to enjoy the Montana outdoors. Floating, swimming, hiking, biking, and more are just out your door. Take some time this summer to learn a new skill or pastime.

These are just a few suggestions to help you protect our trout this summer. If we all do our part and fish responsibly, we’ll have more fish to chase once conditions improve. MTU works hard year-round to do what we can to mitigate the effects of our warming climate, from stream restoration projects on tributary streams to finding new ways to increase flows and put water back into the river. If you’d like to make a donation to support this work, click the link below. Thanks for all you do to further our mission!

 

News

The Story of Rainbow #0068

by Bill Pfeiffer

A Guest Blog by Jon Hanson, Fish Biologist, NorthWestern Energy

An impressive migration was documented again this week by Patrick Uthe and Craig Podner (FWP Missoula).  We had a 21 inch rainbow trout (3.5 lbs)  that was captured in the Thompson Falls Fish Ladder March 25, 2020 and tagged with a Floy and PIT tag.  It was released upstream, and then FWP recaptured it up Johnson Creek, a tributary to the lower Blackfoot River on April 27th, 2020.  This is the furthest documented fish movement to date and the first documented connection from the Lower Clark Fork to the Blackfoot River system.  In 33 days this rainbow moved upstream 150+ miles to where it likely hatched, to carry out its life history and presumably  spawn.

When one collectively thinks about the independent restoration actions it took to have a positive cumulative effect it’s pretty remarkable.  Starting in Johnson Creek where habitat conditions must be suitable enough for fish to spawn, survive the critical first couple of years, and then facilitate upstream return of adults, partners completed work that included; 3 culvert removals and installation of a bridge allowing for upstream fish passage, road decommissioning which improved habitat and reduced the risk of fine sediment delivery, and a three way protective land acquisition with Plum Creek, The Nature Conservancy, and Lolo National Forest.  Several years ago this juvenile rainbow trout (now known as tag #0068) left Johnson Creek and moved downstream, the removal of Milltown Dam reduced a predatory population of nonnative northern pike from the reservoir.  As this juvenile matured and instincts kicked in to return to its natal stream, the operation of the Thompson Falls fish ladder then started the upstream sequence and allowed access to the middle Clark Fork River.  Again, the removal of Milltown Dam, allowed #0068 further access this Blackfoot River tributary, where it was trapped incidentally via another fisheries research project.

This success story supplements a similar migration by a rainbow trout to Rattlesnake Creek (in Missoula) via Thompson Falls Dam last spring.

These partnership efforts restore this possibility. The biological documentation linking all the actions is a notable feat.  Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Lolo National Forest, US Fish Wildlife Service, Big Blackfoot Chapter of TU, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, and NorthWestern Energy are just a few of the key contributors to make this multi drainage success happen. Thank you to all the people who have been a part of these efforts up until now, and all those working towards a brighter future.

 

News

Position Announcement: Outreach Coordinator

by Bill Pfeiffer

MTU’s Outreach Coordinator will enjoy a diverse variety of tasks falling primarily under the Marketing/Communications and Outreach headings.  We seek an experienced, self-motivated, personable individual interested in helping with all external communication needs.  MTU’s outreach includes print and digital media production, social and paid media design and placement, event planning and staffing, as well as face-to-face meetings, phone calls, and other exchanges between staff and volunteer leaders, members, partner organizations, and businesses.

Our Outreach Coordinator will be the main point of contact between national Trout Unlimited’s Volunteer Operations team and MT Chapters.  This position entails regular statewide travel to facilitate chapter trainings, and attend and help with chapter events.  All MTU staff contribute to the daily operation of our Missoula office, especially interacting with visitors and general inquiries.

The Outreach Coordinator will work closely with our other staff to keep abreast of conservation, policy, and on-the-ground work, as well as assisting our development efforts as needed.  The successful candidate will work full-time out of our Missoula office.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (not an exhaustive list)

  • Engage and educate chapter leadership on their regular needs such as financial reporting, membership/recruitment/retention, event planning, and TU tools for successful chapter and volunteer operations.
  • Oversee MTU’s website maintenance and updating. Develop a monthly, online newletter/organizational update to members.
  • Work with MTU program staff to develop and implement a marketing plan, as well as a plan for regular social and paid media outreach.
  • Administer annual Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp – solicit participants, recruit and vet volunteers, interact with parents, organize camp lodging, food, transportation, equipment, daily schedule, tours, etc., and supervise camp.
  • Grow MTU’s Montana Brewshed Allianceâ across the state in partnership with chapters.
  • Oversee events like the annual conservation briefing for Montana fishing guides/outfitters.
  • Schedule, design, layout, and produce quarterly newsletter – Trout Line.
  • Schedule (date, location, agenda, special presentations/tours) and help plan quarterly State Council meetings in coordination with hosting chapters.
  • Coordinate outreach/education, such as Blackfoot River Fund tabling at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater.
  • Develop, order and oversee distribution of MTU-logo’d merchandise.
  • Assist MTU’s development staff with special events and donor outreach.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s degree in communications/marketing-related field required.
  • Prefer five years of professional experience in outreach, communications, and/or marketing.
  • Experience with nonprofit and conservation organizations a plus.
  • Knowledge of Montana geography and fisheries, water quality, and/or water quantity restoration encouraged.
  • Superior interpersonal skills and ability to work constructively with diverse partners, community stakeholders, business leaders, volunteers, and people of all ages and backgrounds.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills required.
  • Experience with media relations and public outreach both digital and traditional.
  • Ability to work independently while managing complex projects.
  • Willingness to travel within the region as necessary.
  • Ability to provide own transportation may be required. Mileage reimbursed.

HOW TO APPLY

Please upload a letter of interest, resume, and three professional references here via Submittable by October 1, 2019.

MTU offers competitive salary and full, excellent benefits package.

MTU is an Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act & Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistant Act.

MTU hires staff without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.

What exactly is “EIS scoping”?

by MTUvolunteer

Before a mine can start moving minerals an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be completed.  The first step in the process is scoping.  Scoping is the initial process of determining what issues should be studied in the EIS.  Public comment is an important part of the process.  As part of the scoping process, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold public hearings which provide the public the opportunity to tell DEQ what should be included in their analysis and why it should be included.

Potential scoping topics for the Black Butte Copper Project

  • The Wild Fishery of the Smith River Basin: DEQ should evaluate the baseline conditions of the Sheep Creek and Smith River wild and native trout fishery. The Tintina project has the potential to dewater and contaminate both surface water and groundwater connected to the Sheep Creek tributary, and then to the main Smith River.  There is clear evidence that wild trout, and potentially some native fish species, use Sheep Creek extensively for spawning and as a cold water refuge during low, warm water conditions in the Smith.  There is also clear evidence that during their life-cycle, trout migrate between Sheep Creek, the Smith River, and the Missouri River. In addition, during periods of low water, Sheep Creek is the largest source of clean, cold water to the mainstem river, which is vital for the health of the entire Smith River fishery all the way to its confluence with the Missouri River. Considering that impacts to water quality and quantity in Sheep Creek are a concern for the fishery all the way into the Missouri, there must be a thorough baseline study of this extensive, at-risk fishery. DEQ should include and rely upon Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Region 4 fishery biologists and managers in the EIS analysis.
  • Jobs and Economic Growth in Outdoor Recreation:  In evaluating the possible negative impacts to water quality and quantity associated with Tintina’s mining proposal, DEQ should seriously consider the hit this would cause to a significant portion of Montana’s robust and growing tourist and outdoor recreation economy.  Tourists spend at least $350 million annually in Montana on fishing, which is at the heart of the state’s $7 billion per year outdoor recreation economy.  That economy generates over 71,000 Montana jobs.  Around 7,000 people float the 60-mile permitted stretch of the Smith River annually, with the hope of connecting to a part of Montana that is still wild. The fact that the Smith is the only permitted river out of Montana’s many amazing rivers makes clear how valuable it is for our recreation and tourist economy.  Economists have determined that fishing on the Smith River alone contributes up to $10 million annually for Montana’s economy, and that doesn’t include other recreational, agricultural and tax benefits it generates. These are indefinitely sustainable dollars, and they benefit real people and real jobs that would be lost if the river is degraded. Outfitters who have worked for over twenty years on the Smith River have collectively employed hundreds of guides and other staff.  Add to these careers the cost taxpayers might have to foot to clean up a big spill, or to keep toxins from leaking in the future, and it becomes a high price to pay. Unfortunately, the citizens of Montana will assume all the risk, while the corporate boardrooms of Tintina’s owners in Perth, Australia and New York City reap the rewards.
  • Water Quantity in Sheep Creek and the Smith: The Smith River and Sheep Creek already suffer from low flows during most years, putting pressure on downstream water users and preventing the fishery from reaching its potential. Tintina plans to pump large volumes of groundwater in order to keep the underground tunnels dry during mining. This could alter flows in Sheep Creek and other streams that rely on that groundwater for a portion of their flows. DEQ should evaluate the potential impacts to Sheep Creek and the Smith River from reduced flows as a result of mine activities.
  • Water Quality in Sheep Creek and the Smith: DEQ should evaluate the potential long-term impacts to water quality in the Smith River watershed from acid mine drainage because the Tintina Project is a sulfide deposit.  When sulfide minerals are dug up and exposed to air and water, they can react to form acid mine drainage, which is toxic to fish and other aquatic life.  Once acid mine drainage develops on a large scale, it is impossible to stop, and it can continue for hundreds of years – requiring expensive long-term treatment.  DEQ’s analysis of acid mine drainage potential for this mine proposal should include evaluation of mine tailings, which will require isolation from air or water to safeguard against leaching toxins.  Other mines in Montana that have developed acid mine drainage have caused lasting damage and cost taxpayers tens of millions in treatment costs. DEQ should also evaluate the potential water quality impacts of other harmful metals, such as arsenic.
  • Potential Massive Expansion of the Mine: While Tintina has portrayed their project to Montanans as a relatively small and underground mine, they have simultaneously been acquiring the mineral rights to a very large tract of land directly adjacent to the proposed mine. These mineral rights are located both on private and public land, and stretch from the proposed mine site to within a couple of miles from the Smith River, and cross over several other tributaries to the Smith and Sheep Creek. Tintina is on record claiming that the “upside” of the project, or the long-term opportunities, is a 50-year mining district, that would ultimately turn the western side of the Little Belt mountains into an industrialized zone. The company currently maintains over 500 mining claims on public land totaling more than 10,000 acres surrounding its Black Butte site.  DEQ must, as part of the EIS process, consider the secondary and cumulative impacts associated with the expansion of the mine.

Public Hearing Schedule

  • Monday, October 30, 2017 – Great Falls Civic Center, 2 Park Drive South, Great Falls, MT
  • Wednesday, November 1, 2017 – White Sulphur Springs High School Gymnasium, 405 South Central Avenue, White Sulphur Springs, MT
  • Monday, November 6, 2017 – Radisson Colonial Hotel, 2301 Colonial Drive, Helena, MT 
  • Tuesday, November 7, 2017 – Park County High School Gymnasium, 102 View Vista Drive, Livingston, MT

All meetings are scheduled from 6-9 p.m.  Stay tuned for information on ride share and bus transport option.

Giving a Voice to Rivers

by MTUvolunteer

Joe Newman spent two months this summer at Camp Baker, the public put in to the Smith River, educating people about the proposed copper mine that threatens the health of the Smith River watershed. Read about his experience Giving a Voice to Rivers.