Follow us to our new home! Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited has upgraded our website at www.flatheadtu.org We are including our blog in our new site and will no longer be posting on this site.
We hope you will join us at our new venue. Please stop by www.flatheadtu.org and check out our new digs.
thanks, Lucky
The Public Land and Water Association is to heartily congratulated on the victory in the Montana Supreme Court opinion in PLWA v. Madison County. The precedent-setting decision assures us all of continuing access to Montana’s public waters. They did all the heavy lifting in the case. Montana TU filed an amicus brief in support and Flathead TU would like to thank PLWA for all their hard work on this case. Here is the note from PSWA on the case:
Resounding victory for public access
On January 16, 2014 the Montana Supreme Court overturned a lower court and assured public access to the Ruby River from bridges on land owned by Atlanta media mogul James Cox Kennedy. The decision sets a precedent that validates all Montana stream and bridge access laws. The Court affirmed a previous decision that two of the county road bridges – Duncan Road and Lewis Lane – have a 60-foot wide public easement intersecting the high water mark of the river. This is the decision that led to the Montana Bridge Access law.
What’s new is that the court essentially threw out the District Court ruling on the third bridge – a bridge on the Seyler lane road . The lower court had mistakenly ruled there was no recreational access on the bridge because it was on a road created by prescription or regular public use and recreational use was not a basis for creation of the prescriptive right -of- way.
On Seyler Lane, the case was sent back to District Court with instructions to determine the width of the public road right-or-way which had been established by prescriptive use. Significantly, the Court held that once a prescriptive easement is established, access extends to all public uses including recreational use.
The Supreme Court justices rejected the District Court ruling that a secondary easement off the travel way existed only to accommodate maintenance by state and county crews and recognized recreation travel as a legitimate use to help qualify a road for prescriptive easement status.
The Court also emphatically upheld Montana’s stream access law, stating “that the State owns all the waters in trust for the People . . . and that a riparian owner takes his property interest subject to a dominant estate in favor of the public. ”
John Gibson, President of PLWA, stated “Today’s ruling from the Montana Supreme Court confirms once again that our streams are public resources, and not the exclusive playgrounds for the select few. The public’s right to wade or float any river or stream in the state has been recognized, as well as the right to access those streams at bridges crossed by public roads. We want to thank Montana Trout Unlimited and the Montana Wildlife Federation as well as our loyal members for their contributions. ”
“We have been involved in this case for over ten years and this decision has justified our efforts,” Gibson says. He went on to say that “Much of our success is due to the great work of the Goetz Law Firm in Bozeman who lead us thru the legal maze surrounding access to the public waters of Montana.”
Resounding Victory indeed! Thanks again to all the good folks at the PLWA.
WHAT: The Parks Division of Montana FWP recently released a draft management plan for 5,600-acre Fish Creek State Park, which is located on Lower Fish Creek near its confluence with the Clark Fork River in Mineral County. The 35,000-acre Fish Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) surrounds the park on three sides. Both areas were created two years ago when FWP purchased 41,000 acres from the Nature Conservancy, which had acquired the land from Plum Creek Timber Company. The idea of turning the full acquisition into a wildlife management area was popular with the public. The idea of carving out 5,600 acres to create a state park was the brainchild of former Gov. Schweitzer’s FWP director.
FWP’S PLAN: The draft management plan ignores much of what the public told the Parks Division during a public scoping period last year. Many commenters said the park should be managed primarily for conservation of fish and wildlife because the area is popular with hunters and anglers and it adjoins a WMA.
Fish Creek is a popular recreational fishery, and is the most important tributary of the middle Clark Fork for migratory cutthroat and bull trout. Much of the park is also winter range or critical migratory habitat for other wildlife. TU members and others urged parks staff to keep development to only that which is necessary for protecting resources and existing recreational experiences. However, the plan ignored these sentiments. Among other things, it proposes:
• Constructing a 40-60 unit RV-friendly campground with full hookups, running water and power in the north-central part of the park;
• Building a hut-to-hut trail system with rental yurts and access for hikers, bikers and off-road vehicles;
• Creation of developed “backcountry” campsites that include features such as outhouses;
• Working with economic development interests to attract many more visitors to Fish Creek, especially off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts. At a recent public meeting, the second in command in the Parks Division declared that, “We view Fish Creek State Park as an OHV park.” (OHVs include ATVs, dirt bikes, snowmobiles and other motorized recreational vehicles.); and,
• Charging fees for park facilities, construction of “interpretative” facilities and restricting certain existing public activities, such as dispersed camping and hunting (near park facilities).
THE PROBLEMS: If adopted and implemented, the plan will result in increased fishing pressure on Fish Creek — which is a small, sensitive stream — and harm to watershed integrity, wintering elk and deer, migration of forest carnivores and traditional uses that Montanans have long enjoyed on lower Fish Creek. This development blueprint is being promoted before FWP has even developed a plan for the much larger, adjoining Wildlife Management Area, which will be affected by activities in the park.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact FWP’s Parks Division and tell it:
1. Do not finalize a management plan for Fish Creek State Park until the agency has completed a plan for the Fish Creek Wildlife Management Area.
2. Designate the park as a “primitive park,” a designation the Montana Legislature created to protect parks with sensitive natural and cultural values from overdevelopment.
3. DO NOT promote the park as an “OHV park.”
4. Maintain the minimum development necessary to preserve public access for traditional uses, including fishing, hunting and hiking. Any development for camping, picnicking or trails should include minimal site-hardening and developed facilities, and it should minimize costs for operations and maintenance.
Comments due by Jan. 24, 2014. You can comment HERE at the Montana State Parks website.
Fisheries in the Crown of the Continent – Glacier National Park
Quartz Lake Bull Trout collected for genetic testing
While Glacier National Park is renowned for its spectacular scenery, wildlife and hiking opportunities, the Park also supports vital populations of native fish and an active fisheries management program.
Please Join us on Jan. 21, 2014 to learn about the challenges and opportunities related to the management of the many rivers and lakes in our “backyard” national park.
At our January general meeting, Chris Downs, who assumed responsibility for managing the Parks fisheries in 2008, will provide an update on current projects underway in the Park as well as the current status of the update of the Park Fisheries Management Plan now underway. The Park is faced with many challenges including the devastating effects of invasive lake trout. On the west side of the Park, lake trout have invaded nine of twelve lakes to which they have access and are have had severe negative impacts on the survival of native fish populations. Two of the Park’s premier bull trout supporting lakes, Quartz Lake and Logging Lake, are currently at risk of losing historically robust and significant native fish populations due to invasion by nonnative lake trout.
Chris earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1990 and an M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Management from Montana State University, Bozeman in 1995. Prior to coming to work as a fisheries biologist in Glacier in 2008, Chris spent 10 years working as a Senior Fisheries Research Biologist with Idaho Fish and Game on the Kootenai River, Lake Pend Oreille and the Lower Clark Fork River.
We know this will be an interesting and informative presentation and we hope you will be able to join us. The meeting begins at 7pm at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks conference room, 490 North Meridan in Kalispell.
Refreshments will be served, door prizes will be awarded and, as always, you don’t need to be a Trout Unlimited member to attend. Please contact Chapter President Larry Timchak at 250-7473 for additional information.
Got a note this morning on the current status of the kokanee population on Lake Pend Oreille and it looks like continued good news. As you all know, Idaho Fish and Game began netting predatory lake trout in Pend Oreille in 2006 following the crash of the kokanee population and severe drops in the numbers of native fish and Gerrard rainbow trout. Those netting efforts have shown positive results in recent years, particularly in the numbers of popular kokanee salmon. Last year was the first year since 2000 that they were able to reopen a limited fishery for kokanee. This year they did an extensive survey of the lake shore areas and they are seeing a dramatic resurgence in kokanee which can be attributed to the netting program. Here’s the report from Andy Dux of IDFG and a great chart showing the continued explosion of the kokane population.
I wanted to update everyone on the status of kokanee spawning in Lake Pend Oreille. There is still some spawning activity occurring, but it is mostly completed and we have finished our annual surveys. We had a tremendous increase in the number of spawners this year. We estimated about 1.2 million spawners (hatchery and wild combined), which was by far the highest total since we started those estimates in 2000 (see attached graph). The hatchery trapping also went well and we collected 11.4 million eggs, which will essentially fill the Cabinet Gorge hatchery.
Last week we finished a visual survey of the entire shoreline of the lake. This was a more comprehensive survey than we’ve done in recent years because there finally are enough spawning fish to warrant this kind of effort. We saw a major expansion of spawning activity from predominately the southern bays (Scenic and Idlewilde) to many shoreline areas in the southern half of the lake. In addition, there was some spawning on the northern half of the lake, which has been rare for some time now.
Looks like a Merry Christmas indeed for fishermen on Lake Pend Oreille! Targeted netting does indeed pay off.
In a master stroke of propaganda, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 put out a news release last week for the annual bull trout redd counts for the North and Middle forks of the Flathead River.
Spawning Surveys in the Flathead Show Positive Results for Bull Trout
The press release reports the redd numbers in glowing terms, stating that “This rebound is encouraging and indicates the current bull trout population is relatively stable.” And, “this translates to several million eggs deposited in the gravels of North and Middle Fork Flathead tributaries.” Given the upbeat language in the FWP release, how could you help but think things are just hunky dory for threatened bull trout in the Flathead? Of course, news outlets fully took the bait with headlines like this;
KAJ TV reported that “The latest surveys by biologists show the number of endangered bull trout in the upper reaches of the Flathead Basin hitting a new milestone.”
One slight problem; First of all, the press release came without the actual redd count data. Second, the reported 500 redds basinwide is not the actual count made in the index reaches. 500 is the number of tallied index redds expanded to what the math says it would be if if the whole basin had been counted. Which it was not. When looking at the actual numbers, it’s pretty easy to see that the redd counts are pretty much the same as they have been for quite a few years. Up a bit last year and down slightly this year. This year’s redd count in the index reaches was actually down slightly from the count last year and about the same as it was in 2008. Last year, FWP counted 229 redds in the index reaches. This year the count was 225, really not much change.
There was some good news, the count in the North Fork Flathead was up slightly over last year, although that was starting from a dismal count last year of only 58 redds with some tributaries reporting counts in the single digits. This year’s count on the North Fork only continues the decades-long trend of declining numbers. The Middle Fork Flathead counts were down a bit but again, that was from a pretty high count in 2012. So, looking at the data, it’s pretty easy to see that there really wasn’t much change in the numbers of spawning bull trout. Our native fish continue to face real and serious problems in the Flathead watershed. Not least among those being predation and competition from an overabundant lake trout population in Flathead Lake.
FWP is currently in negotiations with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes over management of Flathead Lake. The CSKT has proposed suppressing the bloated mackinaw population to restore some balance to the lake fishery and give our native bull trout and cutthroat trout some room to grow and FVTU supports that effort. FWP is opposed to any strategy that would reduce lake trout by even one fish. It is to the advantage of the state fishery folks to make it seem that everything is just rosy for our native fish and that there is no reason for reducing the lake trout population. It’s too bad that FWP chose to not release the actual numbers along with their propaganda statement, but what you need to remember is that what they are saying and what’s really happening in the watershed don’t necessarily always jive. FVTU encourages you to ask questions when you see these cheery statements from FWP. This year’s count is not a “rebound” nor does it represent “strong numbers” or a “positive result” and it certainly is no “milestone”. Always ask to see the real numbers and don’t rely on how the data are described by either side that has a finger in the pie.
Montana Trout Unlimited is upping the ante in the fight against illegal fish introductions that threaten Montana’s world-class trout fisheries. The organization is pledging $10,000 to Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to offer rewards for information leading to arrest and conviction of people who illegally plant fish in important trout waters.
Montana TU is moving to increase rewards available following news that fishermen this summer reported catching smallmouth bass in Seeley Lake, a development FWP attributes to an illegal introduction.
“Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money, but when you consider lost fishing opportunities, economic cost to local communities and the cost of getting rid of invasive species, this is an important investment,” said Montana TU Conservation Director Mark Aagenes.
Aagenes said the discovery of smallmouth bass in Seeley Lake is all the more disturbing given concerted efforts by FWP, land managers and the angling community to restore and improve native westslope cutthroat and bull trout fisheries in the lakes, tributaries and rivers that connect to Seeley Lake.
“Unfortunately, smallmouth bass dumped into a hugely important trout waters is only the latest example of a growing threat,” Aagenes said.
More than 280 waters have been infested by unplanned introductions of fish species, according to the most recent information available from FWP. State authorities have documented at least 500 instances of illegal introductions, fully one-fourth of which have occurred in the past decade alone. Introduced fish can compete with or prey on established species, spread disease and parasites, interbreed with established species, impair water quality, destroy existing aquatic habitat, and harm our fisheries in other ways.
Moving live fish or aquatic insects from one body of water to another is illegal in Montana. Violators face a potential $1,000 fine and six months behind bars. Montana TU hopes offering rewards for information through the TIP-MONT program will deter illegal introductions by increasing opportunities for prosecution. Call Montana FWP at 1-800-TIPMONT to report an illegal introduction. Montana TU expects to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with FWP to make the reward money available as soon as possible. Montana TU is also excited to work with the FWP commission and the Legislature to strengthen policies related to illegal introductions.
“Introducing invasive species of fish is like spreading noxious weeds,” Aagenes said. “Invasive fish are like knapweed with fins. We need to stop the problem before it gets worse.”
For more information contact Conservation Director Mark Aagenes at 543-0054 or mark@montanatu.org.
FVTU was there!
WHITEFISH; September X, 2013 – Hundreds attended a new community event called Fish the Fish, held August 13 at Whitefish Mountain Resort, and helped raise a whopping $15,000 for breast cancer recovery. The funds will send 14 local women battling breast cancer to a Casting For Recovery fly fishing retreat in West Glacier.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to have such tremendous support from the Flathead community – from everyone who attended Fish the Fish to the Whitefish Knotty Nymphs who created and hosted the event,” said Whitney Milhoan, Executive Director of Casting For Recovery’s national organization and West Glacier resident. “Funding a full retreat is a significant contribution. It will have such a powerful impact on so many lives.”
Casting For Recovery is a national nonprofit that provides opportunities for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by breast cancer to gather in a natural setting and learn the sport of fly fishing. The retreats offer not just fly fishing, but fellowship, counseling, education, and networking that are invaluable supports for women battling breast cancer. This is the third year that the local program has held a retreat.
“We want thank everyone who attended Fish the Fish and made donations to see the great travel trailers and who purchased raffle tickets,” said Susan Howard, Fish the Fish coordinator and head of the Whitefish Knotty Nymphs, a local group of women who are passionate about fly fishing and meaningful causes in the Flathead. “We’re already making plans for Fish the Fish 2014 so that we can offer the community even more fun, and so we can raise even more money in the fight against breast cancer.”
Fish the Fish offered an afternoon of unique activities and entertainment to the public, including a fly fishing expo, vintage travel trailer tour, fly fishing casting competition and a raffle for significant prizes such as Spotted Bear Ranch and Lakestream Outfitters guided fly fishing trips. Fish the Fish attendees were able to tour over 60 refurbished vintage travel trailers caravanned in from all over the country by the nationally famous Sisters on the Fly, a group of over 4,000 women bonded by fly fishing and remodeling vintage trailers for their outdoor expeditions.
Direct donations to Casting For Recovery can be made at http://www.FishtheFish2013.com. For more information about Casting For Recovery visit www.castingforrecovery.org. For more information about the Whitefish Knotty Nymphs visit Facebook.
Natural Resources Department
Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation & Conservation
P.O. Box 278
Pablo, MT 59855
(406) 675-2700 extension 7299
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Germaine White — germainew@cskt.org
Information and Education Specialist
Thursday, September 12, 2013
*************************************************************************************
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) have recommended a preferred alternative for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS): Proposed Strategies to Benefit Native Species by Reducing the Abundance of Lake Trout in Flathead Lake, Montana.
The DEIS evaluated the implementation of methods outlined in the Flathead Lake and River System Co-Management Plan (Co-plan) for non-native lake trout suppression. It presented four alternatives with differing degrees of lake trout population reduction and for each alternative, examined the potential benefits to native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout as well as the biological, social, and economic impacts. The DEIS remains available online for informational purposes at mackdays.com.
The recommendation of the preferred alternative is the culmination of more than three years of careful analysis of current fisheries research, scientific study, and broad public scoping and comment periods, including a series of community meetings. State and federal agencies with fisheries expertise in the Flathead watershed and several renowned scientists participated in the development of the findings in the DEIS. Each alternative is designed to implement measures that increase the number of native fish in Flathead Lake and River while maintaining a recreational fishery. Alternative D is recommended as the preferred alternative.
This recommendation is consistent with direction given to the CSKT and the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Commission by the Flathead Reservation Fish and Wildlife Board (Board) in a letter dated September 9, 2013. The Board is made up of seven members representing the tribal and non-tribal communities and is appointed by the Tribal Chairman and the Governor. The Board has overseen this process since the adoption of the Co-Plan in 2000 and has urged that the co-managers fully implement the Co-Plan. Both public and agency comments received on the DEIS overwhelming favored the use of additional tools to reduce non-native lake trout abundance.
Alternative D provides the greatest flexibility in Flathead Lake fisheries management. The selection of this alternative does not obligate the harvest of a specific number of lake trout annually, but it rather determines that the impacts of doing so have been fully quantified. Alternative D analyzes the effects of a maximum 75% reduction of the adult lake trout population, although this target level will not be pursued unless needed. The specifics of the alternative, including timing, techniques, and personnel will be identified subsequently in a detailed implementation plan. Most importantly, the preferred alternative allows flexibility for managers as circumstances change and new information is obtained.
The public will have another opportunity to comment when the Bureau of Indian Affairs publishes the notice of availability for the Final EIS. A record of decision (ROD) will follow that comment period, and then the CSKT will begin working with co-managers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies in the development of an implementation plan. The implementation of an adaptive management plan will ultimately guide which of the newly available suppression methods have the least by-catch of other fish species and are most compatible with the existing angler-based approaches used to balance the fishery as envisioned by the co-plan. As in the past, annual monitoring and reporting of progress under the co-plan goals will ultimately decide the level of improvement to native trout populations and the best balance for a recreational fishery.
For more information contact Tom McDonald or Germaine White at Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation or Conservation at (406) 883-2888.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is staffed by talented managers and biologists doing great work for Montana’s fish, wildlife, and parks around the state. Unfortunately, FWP managers are choosing speculation over peer-reviewed science and sound economics to drum up opposition to the Flathead Lake Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). A recent newspaper column, a letter or two by Flathead Lake commercial fishermen, and an editorial in a local paper all repeat inaccurate and unfounded arguments in opposition to the Flathead Lake DEIS. Here’s what FWP is not including in their information on opposition to the proposed plan.
1) The tribes have employed the scientific method with peer review using data and state of the art population modeling developed by well-regarded experts. This was undertaken at great cost, just as the tribes fund the Mack Days contests to the tune of $350,000 per year. FWP has not collected independent data, resorts to speculation and has not produced any models or other analysis to counter tribal results.
2) Biologists in all the agencies involved in this process, as well as other research, support implementing one of the reasonable alternatives to reduce the over-abundant lake trout population. FWP’s managers simply “believe” this and that won’t work. FWP’s efforts at Swan Lake demonstrate it can use science to inform lake trout suppression. But for some reason, they refuse to do so at Flathead Lake.
3) “Secure” to FWP means status quo, meaning you can’t fish for bull trout in the lake and river, angling for cutthroats will continue to be catch and release and bull trout will continue to be managed not by the State of Montana, but by the federal government because the fish will continue to be listed as threatened.
4) At the same time FWP bemoans the fact that fewer new anglers are coming on board, resulting in fewer license dollars to support department programs. FWP supports recreational fishery management at Flathead Lake that ensures it is dominated by lake trout, requiring specialized equipment and boats. Sticking with existing management on the lake means much fewer angling opportunities for the public, as evidenced by the steep decline in angler days since lake trout have exploded — from a high of 170,000 angler-days a year to 33,000 in 2011.
5) There is a reason most other biologists and nationally known fishery geneticists disagree that bull trout are “secure” in the Flathead. First, far fewer bull trout are showing up in sampling nets in the lake. Second, though the overall number of spawning redds in the North and Middle Forks combined appears to be steady — or as FWP claims “secure,” — the North Fork population is dropping precipitously. The decline is masked by combining spawning there with that of the healthier Middle Fork.
6) There is absolutely no evidence that reducing the lake trout population as proposed in the DEIS will result in less fishing opportunity. FWP has no data to support this. Research from elsewhere indicates catch-rates for lake trout are likely to remain the same or slightly less than today. The benefit will be higher catch-rates for other species in the lake and river system.
7) Even if the most aggressive alternative in the DEIS is selected, there would still be more than 1 million lake trout in Flathead Lake. Enough to provide a good fishery and far more than recovered populations of bull trout and cutthroats.
8) FWP has no data demonstrating that current angling for lake trout represents a large part of the local economy, nor does the agency demonstrate that 1 million lake trout would result in much less angling opportunity. $20 million is misquoted as the value of the lake trout fishery. That, of course, is the value of the total Flathead fishery, including money spent angling on the Flathead River and lake. Only slightly more than half is spent on the lake, and 40% of that is not spent in pursuit of lake trout. When you include all the fishing money spent in other tributaries and lakes within the Flathead watershed, the value of the small mackinaw fishery pales in comparison. The Flathead Lake DEIS estimates that the loss to the two-county economy due to suppression would be less than 0.1% and that would likely be made up by increased river angling.
9) Columnists, a letter writer, and a recent editorial would scare you into believing that if you buy electricity from BPA you will pay for this plan. You have already paid that money. BPA sets aside mitigation funds every year for worthy projects. That money will be collected and spent regardless of whether or not it is spent on Flathead Lake. There will be no additional cost to rate payers.
10) FWP decries the estimated bycatch of bull trout resulting from netting in Flathead Lake. Bycatch is rightly a concern to be addressed and avoided, and the tribes are committed to this. The US Fish and Wildlife Service must approve and monitor the level of estimated bycatch before and during any netting on Flathead Lake. Accurate data from other regional waters where fish populations are being rebalanced by reducing lake trout show that reducing lake trout populations can be accomplished without adverse effect on native bull trout and cutthroat populations. FWP’s own data on Swan Lake has shown that bull trout can be avoided in the netting process.
“Belief” and speculation cannot take the place of thoughtful, rigorous science and sound economics in this important process to recover native fish in the Flathead. FWP needs to support this process and live up to their promises to recover native fish in the Flathead.
Learn more at http://www.flatheadtu.org/
CSKT response to the MFWP talking points: http://www.mackdays.com/DEIS/page75/
Read the DEIS at the CSKT website at http://www.flatheadlakeeis.net/
Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited 