Category — Conservation

Lester from Lakestream reports that the dam operators on the Missouri River started opening the spigot this weekend. High flows are expected to last several days while the river gets a good flush. For a report on the fishing give him a call, 406-862-1298.

Two weeks ago the Bureau of Rec decided it needed to cut flows in the Bighorn River to 1500 cfs, a knee jerk reaction I suspect to water skiers not being able to access the Horseshoe Bend launch on Bighorn Lake for the holiday weekend.

Today the Bureau woke up to the fact that they are still sitting on a 135% snow pack that is getting ready to roll out of the mountains, probably within the next month. So now we have another knee jerk reaction, the river is now cranking at 4500 cps. One can only hope this years fry found someplace to hide the last two weeks while the water politics ran its course. Somewhere along the way there will be enough water for everybody at least for awhile.

From Moldy Chum, these short takes on industrial fish farming in British Columbia. These films, produced by Calling from the Coast, are a nasty little pill we need to be giving anyone who supports open water fish farms. In B.C., fish farming by Cermaq, a Norwegian company, has infected wild salmon with lice.

From Montana FW&P, Thursday, 5/23:

“Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials said today that flooding has forced the closure of 11 fishing access sites in the western portion of the state and made conditions hazardous on a number of rivers.

Seven FASs on the Bitterroot River were closed Monday, May 19 including: Hannon Memorial, Wally Crawford, Angler’s Roost, Woodside Bridge, Bell Crossing, Poker Joe and Florence Bridge. On the Clark Fork River the Kona Bridge FAS west of Missoula on Mullan Road is also closed.

FAS sites in southwest Montana closed today include: Four Corners and Gallatin Forks (Nixon Bridge) on the Gallatin River near Manhattan and High Road on the Big Hole River near Twin Bridges. The closures will remain in effect until flood conditions subside.

Currently, high flows on the Missouri River are above Canyon Ferry, with lower flows below the dam. FWP officials are closely watching conditions at Headwaters State Park near Three Forks and said portions of the park may need to be restricted as early as tomorrow if the rain continues.

Water levels on the Missouri River below Holter Dam could increase dramatically over the next week as Canyon Ferry Reservoir fills, or sooner if the heavy rains develop as predicted.”