SPRING TROUT LINE 2012 Newsletter from the Montana Council of Trout Unlimited New Venture Protects Rock Creek Gatewayby Bruce Farling and Grant Kier ivers, people and communities in perpetuity, the gateway to this come together. But only on iconic trout stream. After more Rrare occasions do they merge at than a year of negotiation, the land once and in one place. A new venture trust has reached an agreement to protect the with LEMB mouth of the blue Combined with conservation Co, LLC to ribbon waters of easements on neighboring purchase Rock Creek near properties, the acquisition will 201-acres at Missoula is one of the mouth of those occasions. permanently protect more than Rock Creek for Five Valleys two miles of the Clark Fork River $1.6 million. Land Trust, with and more than a mile of Rock Creek. The site, which the support of also includes Imagine 37 new homes here. Or not. Grant Kier photo Montana TU, the Westslope Chapter frontage along the Clark Fork, had the Clark Fork Coalition and Trout of TU and the Clark Fork Coalition, been slated for a controversial 37- Unlimited to develop a common vision have launched the Rock Creek lot subdivision with an artificial fish for the property. Confluence Project in order to protect, pond at its core. Once the purchase is That vision includes eliminating the complete, Five Valleys will work with See ROCK CREEK, page 7 Partners Fight AIS in Montana by Morgan Sparks and Mark Aagenes rguably, Montana’s most settings. However, Montana TU and Montana has established monitoring important resource is others are focusing now on problem and prevention programs. Among Awater, which drives many species that have yet to arrive in the state agencies, Montana Fish, Wildlife of the state’s largest industries such state. and Parks has the largest reach. Its as agriculture, hydropower and Compared to many states Montana main efforts include a boat inspection recreation. Our streams and lakes face is lucky. Most of the notorious program at boat ramps, state borders a variety of challenges. Among the AIS plaguing other states have not See AQUATIC INVASIVES, page 6 most pressing and controllable are been detected here, or, the threats posed by aquatic invasive they occur only in isolated species (AIS). AIS are waterborne, populations. We therefore non-native organisms that threaten have an opportunity to keep the diversity or abundance of native many invaders at bay. Once species and the ecological stability of established, many AIS can native waters. They also can threaten cause economic havoc. The commercial, agricultural, aquacultural U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services or recreational activities. AIS include estimate that AIS impacts in clams, fish, mussels, plants, weeds and the United States already cost disease-causing pathogens. AIS can more than $120 billion a year. include non-native sport fish such as In order to prevent This Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks illustration shows key areas to inspect, lake trout and northern pike where the spread of AIS into and clean & dry on any boat. Make sure your watercraft & equipment is they currently occur in inappropriate within Montana, the State of completely drained and dried. Questions? Contact FWP at (406) 444-2449. 1 FROM THE COUNCIL SPRING/12 Bitterroot Trib Gets Repairs by Michael Gibson MONTANA OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR he Burnt n May 5, the day before his TU friends eventually teamed up with Fork of the TROUT UNLIMITED st MONTANA TU’S 91 birthday, Bud Morris died Jim Posewitz, a passionate young Bitterroot, MISSION is to conserve, Ofrom complications triggered state fishery biologist, to defend the longT known for water OFFICERS by a massive stroke. He passed away Yellowstone’s trout rich waters from protect and restore Montana’s wars and degraded in Ennis, close to his beloved Madison powerful energy companies that trout habitat, is DAN SHORT, CHAIRMAN world-class coldwater fisheries River. Along with Dan Bailey, Bud coveted the water for coal development. 164 Juniper Bend Drive getting a makeover. Kalispell, MT 59901 and their watersheds. Lilly and a few other The fishermen won. In 2011 Montana 257-0069 conservation-minded Bud Morris, Other early TU victories TU, the Bitterroot [email protected] Founded in 1964, Montana anglers from Livingston, included hard-fought Chapter and TU West Yellowstone and national battles led by DOUG NATION, PAST CHAIRMAN Trout Unlimited is a statewide Remembered National fenced off AND NLC DIRECTOR grassroots organization comprised Billings, Bud founded the Butte anglers George a mile stretch of the 289 Bowman Montana Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Grant and Tony Schoonen to stop a Hamilton, MT 59840 of 13 chapters and approximately creek from cattle 363-2137 1963. Most were business people. Bud dam proposed for the Big Hole River [email protected] 3,400 TU members. grazing on the Ellison owned the old Parade Rest guest ranch near Twin Bridges, and passing laws to Cattle Company, just on Grayling Creek, near Hebgen Lake. stop uncontrolled damage to streams east of Stevensville. DOUG HAACKE, TREASURER The chapter eventually became the and riparian areas. These guys were 2104 Mariposa Lane www.montanatu.org TU national’s Volunteers staging to plant shrubs along Burnt Fork Billings, MT 59102 Montana Council, or Montana TU, the lions. Heather Whitely 656-4072 shade – thus helping reduce stream [email protected] umbrella organization for the state’s 12 TU was conceived and founded coordinated the project. And now, is published quarterly temperatures and make a reach of the TROUT LINE local TU chapters. Few Montanans know in Grayling, Michigan, by a handful of thanks to volunteers from the CHRIS SCHUSTROM, SECRETARY lower Bitterroot’s largest tributary by Montana Trout Unlimited. of the early work of those TU pioneers, prescient anglers who knew we could Bitterroot and Westslope Chapters 504 Spokane Ave. and that’s a shame. They twice stopped do better than ignore habitat protection more trout friendly. Whitefish, MT 59937 of TU, the Bitterroot Water Forum, 862-3440 EDITING AND DESIGN......BRUCE FARLING dams proposed for the Yellowstone while converting the nation’s streams Sierra Club and others, this section [email protected] This project also became a reality MICHAEL GIBSON near Livingston, and fought similar into annexes for hatcheries where of the Burnt Fork received close to thanks to contributions from the & KATE GRANT proposals for the Middle Fork Flathead anglers could be robotically hooked 1,000 riparian plantings. Volunteers TOM ANACKER, NLC SECRETARY Ellison Family, Trout and Salmon 945 Technology Blvd., Ste. 102 and North Fork Sun Rivers. They forced on sluggish, race-way raised protein. planted native cottonwoods, Printed on recycled paper using eco-friendly inks. Foundation, TU’s Embrace-A-Stream Bozeman, MT 59771-1247 cleanup of pollution sources along the The seeds for the TU idea were tilled dogwoods, willows, golden currant (h) 586-7585 program, Montana TU, the Bitterroot [email protected] Yellowstone, battled the Forest Service in Michigan, but the heartbeat has and chokecherry. Once these riparian © 2012 Montana Council of Trout Unlimited. and Westslope Chapters of TU, and the over industrial-scale clear-cutting in been strongest in Montana, where plants mature they will help stabilize Blackfoot Native Plants Nursery. the upper reaches of the Madison the Yellowstone, Madison, Big Hole banks, decrease sediment and provide MTU STAFF River drainage (one of Bud’s personal and Flathead needed – and always crusades), introduced Montanans to will – anglers of stout will and passion. BRUCE FARLING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR catch-and-release angling and supported Anglers like Bud Morris. [email protected] a couple of far-thinking state fishery Bruce Farling Casting for Recovery offers Free Clinics managers who were getting pummeled MARK AAGENES CONSERVATION DIRECTOR for proposing wild asting for Recovery provides retreats for women of all [email protected] trout management ages and in any stages of breast cancer and recovery, instead of MICHAEL GIBSON and incorporates fly fishing into the program. CFR will OUTREACH DIRECTOR continued hatchery C [email protected] be holding 44 retreats in 33 states in 2012, two of which are stocking in the in Montana. August 24-26 2012 at Dome Mountain Ranch th KATE GRANT Madison River in Eastern Montana (application deadline June 15 ) and PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR – an experiment September 14-16 2012 at Glacier Outdoor Center in Western [email protected] Get your Montana TU plates at your that proved so Montana (application deadline July 13th). Women are selected county motor vehicle office! successful it was at random and may apply online at www.castingforrecovery.org. MAILING ADDRESS adapted state-wide PO Box 7186 Missoula, MT 59807 and has become Anyone interested in volunteering with the Montana programs the national gold may do so by going to the website and filling out a volunteer OFFICE LOCATION standard for trout 111 N. Higgins Ave., Suite 500 application. Local contact is: Peg Miskin, National Program Missoula, MT 59802 management. Director in Hamilton: [email protected]. Phone: (406) 543-0054 Some of Bud’s Yellowstone-region Bud Morris on the Big Hole, 1966 2 Spring 2012 Spring 2012 3 CHAPTER NEWS Joe Brooks Chapter JBTU teamed up with TU’s projects, road elimination work Madison-Gallatin Chapter for Flathead Valley and fish passage improvements Bitterroot Chapter the 8th Annual Yellowstone River Chapter that dramatically improved this BRTU provided funding and Clean Up this spring, tackling cutthroat spawning stream. The volunteers to the Bitter Root over 70 river miles with 138 chapter is now working with its Water Forum for a riparian participants. JBTU volunteers have This spring the chapter provided partners installing fish screens restoration project this spring on been mapping weeds along the comments to Montana FWP and fish ladders in headwaters advocating for continuance of a the East Fork Bitterroot River.