Hello “Dolly”

Flathead River “Dolly Varden”, bull trout

As the number of native bull trout in the Flathead continues to wither, there seems to be a lot of selective memory loss happening among our local sportsmen. After talking about how important the trophy fishery for large bull trout used to be for Flathead Anglers, we heard back from a few that fishing for bull trout just never was a very popular fishery like we made it out to be.

I have talked to many of the old-time anglers in the Flathead and listened to their tales of anticipation for the opening of the river just about the time the large bull trout, which many called “Dolly Varden”, were on the move. Like inland salmon, bull trout make an annual migration up our rivers and streams every spring traveling up to 130 miles over many months to spawn in tributaries in the U.S. and Canadian Flathead. Like many of our brother anglers on the west coast, this annual migration used to be widely anticipated by local fishermen. Up and down the Flathead, anglers turned out at their favorite named holes as soon as the fish were in the river in hopes of landing trophy bull trout that could reach over 20 pounds.

Looking through  some historical articles, I found many articles from about this time of year referring to anticipation generated by the annual run of “Dolly Varden” in our waters. I was struck by this article from the Flathead Outdoors column in the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake from June 22, 1958:

A number of local fishermen worried for weeks that the June 15 opening date of the Flathead River would be too late for good Dolly Varden (bull trout) fishing. Apparently, however, the big trout didn’t know they were supposed to confirm suspicions of the dubious fishermen by refusing to bite on opening day. Result was that Sunday, the first day of the season, many a fishermen caught one or two nice Dollies. Muggs Huff reported taking a 12-pounder, Norm Beyer, recently of Hamilton and fishing in Flathead waters for the first time, landed a beauty weighing eight pounds. In addition, we saw several unidentified anglers leaving the river with one or two trout that were nearly a yard long.

The Flathead area is the only spot in Montana that produces Dolly Vardens like these. The fishing public should work with the State Fish and Game Department in keeping this popular large trout for all time in Flathead waters.

Now it’s that time of year again. The rivers and streams are up and a few remaining native bull trout are attempting to make their way past the increasingly-large gauntlet of non-native lake trout and northern pike on an impressive migration that will take some of them north all the way to the wilds of Canada to fulfill an ever-harder quest to perpetuate their species. What’s missing now, and for the last few decades is the cadre of anglers that lined the banks of the Flathead River and its tributaries. Just fishing for the only local trophy trout in our rivers is now an illegal activity punishable by hefty fines. Bull trout are now listed as a Threatened Species by the federal government and fewer than 3,000 adults now inhabit Flathead Lake, the North and Middle forks.

We still have a very narrow window in which it will be possible to increase the numbers of these popular and spectacular native fish. It will take dedication, it will take sacrifice and yes, it will take money, but by removing some of those non-native lake trout that prey on our native bull trout and cutthroats, we can once again treat ourselves to that feeling of anticipation and excitement every spring that was felt by  “Muggs” and “Norm” as they cast to trophy “Dollies” along our home waters.

How do you define “illegal”?

Montana FWP seems to have met with significant public opposition over their plan to suppress illegal walleye in Noxon Reservoir. In response, Region 1 said they “will most likely respond by drafting a new EA and providing more public inclusion.”

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear; the population of invasive walleye in Noxon Reservoir is a result of illegal activity. These fish were planted by bucket biologists with flagrant disregard for state law. It has long been the policy of our fisheries managers that illegal aquatic wildlife plantings will be dealt with harshly. State policy says that, if feasible, FWP “shall attempt removal at the earliest possible date.” The current Montana Statewide Fisheries Management Plan for Noxon Reservoir calls for the department to “Suppress illegally introduced walleye from the reservoir as possible.”  The guidance of the law is clear, this should not be a matter for public debate.

Noxon Reservoir supports economically important populations of bass, perch and northern pike as well as native wild trout populations. All of these resident fish populations are put at risk by the growing walleye population. Walleye introductions, illegal and otherwise, have impacted sport fisheries across the west. A recent news article pointed out that FWP is placing used Christmas trees in Canyon Ferry Reservoir to improve perch populations that have been decimated by predatory walleye.
We cannot condone illegal introductions in our waters and fail to respond appropriately. Not acting to remove walleye from Noxon Reservoir will only be seen as a reward for bucket biology and encourage more unlawful introductions. A thriving walleye population in Noxon will also become a source for the spread of this species to other locations west of the divide and will eventually spread downstream threatening neighboring states and causing problems for valuable steelhead and salmon spawning areas in the Columbia Basin.

Montana Trout Unlimited and Flathead Valley TU continue to oppose the introduction of walleye anywhere west of the Continental Divide. This has also long been the policy of MFWP and walleyes west of the Divide are adamantly opposed by the American Fisheries Society. There are plenty of places to fish for Walleye in Montana and we don’t need all the biological and economic problems associated with establishing populations in our western waters.

Family-Friendly Angling Opportunities Suffer Under Non-Native Lake Trout

From the Flathead Beacon – 03/14/2013

Not long ago, the Flathead basin had the largest and healthiest population of native bull trout in the country with possibly 20,000 or more adult fish. Angler harvest of bull trout in the Flathead River system was 6,000 to 8,000 bull trout each year. Some of those fish reached more than 20 pounds. Today, because of precariously low numbers caused by predation from non-native lake trout, the species has been designated as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, and opportunities to fish for this magnificent animal are limited to only a few places in our home waters.

Easily accessible, family-friendly angling for bull trout along the banks of the North, Middle and South Forks, and the main stem Flathead River, as well as along the shores of Flathead Lake, Whitefish Lake, and Swan Lake has been replaced with specialized angling for an overpopulation of non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake.

Friday, March 15 marks the 12th year of the popular Mack Days fishing tournament, instituted by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) as a means to reduce numbers of lake trout as part of the Flathead Lake Co-Management Plan. The No. 1 goal of the co-management plan was to “increase and protect native trout populations.”

After more than a decade, the fishing contests have failed to meet their stated goal. According to population surveys taken each year by FWP, the population of native bull trout in Flathead Lake has continued on a declining trend throughout the life of the contests. Top fisheries biologists estimate that we need to at least double the current lake trout catch in order to begin to reduce the lake trout population. Lowering the lake trout population will restore some balance and give our native fish room to thrive once more while still providing ample fishing opportunity for lake trout anglers.

We have the scientific and technical ability to bring back our native fish. Projects such as ongoing efforts in nearby Lake Pend Oreille have proven that reducing the number of lake trout will improve the numbers and health of other fish populations. It will cost money, and it will take time, but as our populations of native fish remain in decline we continue to lose more and more of a precious genetic and cultural resource that can never be replaced.

Our native fish have existed in this place since the retreat of the continental ice sheet more than 12,000 years ago. They provided an irreplaceable, constant source of protein for American Indian tribes, and until just a short time ago, bull trout gave Flathead anglers the opportunity to catch world-class trophy fish in our rivers and tributaries. These fish were designed by nature to exist in this particular place and to take advantage of the uniqueness of the Flathead River system.

Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited supports proposed efforts to secure our native fish populations and preserve this important resource for our children and grandchildren.

Chris Schustrom is chapter president of Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: /articles/article/family_friendly_angling_opportunities_suffer_under_non_native_lake_trout/32307/

© 2013 Flathead Beacon. All Rights Reserved.

 

Oil and Water II

1998

August, 1998, 27 rail cars hauling barley and wheat went upside down, spilling their loads east of Essex, MT near Bear Creek, a tributary to the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

Havre 2012

March 2011, 19 rail cars came unglued four miles west of Essex. One car dumped oatmeal into the river and another lost 200 frozen turkeys. ““Our cutthroats will have lower cholesterol this spring,” county commissioner Jim Dupont commented.”

Sept. 2012, fourteen cars derailed east of Havre. January 2013, four locomotives and a freight car derailed near West Glacier. No cargo was spilled and no one was injured.  And of course we all remember the August 2012 derailment near Plevna, out in Fallon County that caused several rail cars filled with denatured alchol to explode and burn for several days.

Bakken oil heading west

These are just a few of the problems that BNSF has had carrying freight to market. Normally they do a good job, but every once in a while there is a glitch. Scary as that might be, it’s about to get a whole lot scarier. Oil from the Bakken oil boom is mostly carried by rail to all three U.S. coasts. This is a recent photo of a 100-car oil train just east of the divide and headed for the Flathead River Valley. Each of these cars holds almost 30,000 gallons of crude oil. If even a small portion of that load, not to mention 27 cars, were to find its way into the Flathead River we would be facing a real, long-term ecological disaster for fish and wildlife all the way down to Flathead Lake and beyond. The Yellowstone River pipeline spill released only about 60,000 gallons of oil. That’s about two rail cars worth.The Bakken expects to ship more than 40 million gallons of crude this year. We can’t afford ANY glitches.

 

It’s Working!

Last week, Idaho Fish and Game held their annual “State of the Lake” meeting for Pend Oreille to discuss developments in the Fishery Recovery Effort on the lake during the past year and the news is pretty much all good for the Pend Oreille fishery.

Kokanee Salmon biomass in Pend Oreille

In 2006, IDFG began an aggressive program to reduce the numbers of predatory lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille in response to the crashing kokanee salmon population. Due to drastically reduced numbers, it became necessary to close the very popular lake fishery for kokanee in 2000. The recovery program used gillnets, trap nets and an angler incentive program to reduce numbers of lake trout. Since they began suppression in 2006 they have seen an 82% reduction in the numbers of lake trout caught by trap nets. Netting of juvenile lake trout is down by 76% since 2008.

The response from the kokanee population has been very encouraging. This past year they saw the best 1 & 2 year-old classes of kokanee they have seen since prior to closing the fishery. This development has allowed IDFG to re-open a limited fishery for kokanee in 2013, making for a lot of happy anglers.

In another interesting development, biologists saw a near-complete collapse of the Mysis shrimp population this year for reasons as yet unknown. Since 1975, the mean density of Mysis in the lake has been over 800 individuals per cubic meter. In 2012, the density dropped to 45 Mysis per cubic meter in the lake. Mysis were introduced to Pend Oreille in the 1960s in response to conditions in Kootenay Lake in B.C. which was seeing very large kokanee. Conditions in Pend Oreille turned out to be different from Kootenay Lake and Mysis shrimp became the primary driver for the increase in the predatory lake trout population by providing a stable food source for juvenile lake trout. Predation by lake trout crashed the kokanee population and suppressed other fish species. The new low Mysis densities will not support such large juvenile lake trout populations and should give the large kokanee year classes time to grow and mature with less predation.

Biologists are hopeful that the resurgence in the kokanee population will also lead to larger and more abundant Gerrard rainbows (Kamloops) as well as help to increase the size and numbers of native bull trout and cutthroat trout in the lake and tributary system. The unqualified success of the Fishery Recovery Effort in Pend Oreille over the past decade should provide a wealth of data and guidance for other proposed lake trout suppression efforts in the region such as the program currently being studied for Flathead Lake.

Let’s Move Forward on Climate

Okay, so it’s probably not likely that you are going to make it to the big climate rally in Washington D.C. this Sunday. That’s no excuse to sit on your collective duffs. There are three climate rallies scheduled for the Flathead this Sunday Feb. 17 in conjunction with the national march. Here’s the link to all the pertinent info;

http://www.conservemontana.org/detail.php?uid=cnmE8D2560422B092F97

Climate change is the biggest threat to our native Montana fish and wildlife. Show your support. There will be rallies conveniently located in Kalispell, Whitefish and Bigfork, so there is no excuse for you to not be there. Just in case you are planning to be out of town, there will be rallies in Missoula and Bozeman as well. The Flathead rallies all start at noon. Make plans now to attend. Obama, Congress and Montana need to know that the time has come to take action on climate change. See you there!

P.S. Don’t forget to contact your state representatives to support HJ 10, legislation stating that climate change is scientifically valid and represents an ecological threat to Montana.

February 17, 2013

Rally Location

Kalispell location: Depot Park, corner of Center Street and Main, Noon

Whitefish location: Corner of 2nd Street and Spokane Avenue, Noon

Bigfork location: Harvest Foods parking lot along Hwy 35, Noon

Turning up the heat on native trout

Flathead Bull Trout (in Canada)

I was perusing the recent U.S. Geological report, on How Will Native Rocky Mountain Trout Fare with Climate Changes?

Modeling forecasts consistently have demonstrated that the geographic ranges of Rocky Mountain trout species will shrink by some 20 to 90 percent over the next 50 to 100 years as climate change accelerates in the region. Predicted water temperature increases in high-elevation rivers and streams, coupled with reduced water flows, are certain to add to existing stresses for Rocky Mountain trout.

While the report presents a fairly grim prospect for western trout populations overall, there are bright spots. The paper covers five western river basins that are currently experiencing changes in native fish populations due to the effects of a warming climate. One of the basins investigated was the Flathead River in Northwest Montana. In the Flathead River, our iconic native species include the Westslope Cutthroat and the ESA listed “threatened” Bull Trout. As in the rest of the West, our native fish are undergoing stressful changes;

Rocky Mountain trout populations in all of the river basins they studied are already exhibiting signs of stress, such as having to migrate farther upstream to find more suitable habitat, competing with invasive species for habitat and food, and hybridizing with some invasive fish species. Other stresses include a greater risk of eggs being washed away from increases in winter flooding, increased wildfire risks in streamside ecosystems, and reduced summer habitat due to lower flows.

Click map to see full scale

The good news is that there is at least some hope. In a 2010 USGS report presented on the Climate Change and Native Salmonids Collaborative Research Site, I found this map showing risk status for trout populations in the Northwest.

The map shows that most trout populations in the Clark Fork Basin, which includes the Flathead, are listed as being at moderate to high risk from climate change. One of the few green (Low Risk) areas is the upper forks of the Flathead River.

The current report states that, while the changing climate certainly puts the Flathead fish populations at risk, and that “These shifts in hydrologic regimes may have played a role in declining populations over the last 20 years, although most declines are probably due to expanding population of nonnative lake trout.”

What these data suggest is that, although our local populations of cutthroat and bull trout are certainly at risk from warming waters and flow changes, by far the greater risk comes from invasive nonnative fish such as lake trout and rainbow trout. Lake trout have completely taken over Flathead Lake as well as ten lakes in Glacier National Park. They have devoured our native bull trout to the point that fishing for them is no longer allowed and many of our tributaries are closed to all fishing. Rainbow trout hybridize with native cutthroats and the problems becomes worse as waters warm as rainbows are better adapted to survive in degraded habitats.

But, as the report points out, if we are able to find ways to deal with these nonnative invaders, we may be able to provide a valuable refugia in the Flathead Basin for native fish populations in areas that will be less vulnerable to changes due to a warming climate. While we may see a more than 60% loss in trout habitat across the West, we have the unique opportunity in the Flathead to provide a priceless refuge that will insure that our precious native fish will survive for our children and grandchildren.

Oil and Water

Flathead Beacon photo

There was news this morning of a minor BNSF derailment near West Glacier. The eastbound freight train was carrying Washington apples and frozen meat. No one was hurt and no cargo spilled. This is not big news in Northwest Montana. In fact derailed trains along the BNSF route are a fairly common occurrence, especially in winter and spring. The trains usually carry produce bound for the west coast, corn, wheat, soy beans, etc. When there is a wreck, the aftermath is generally more annoyance to Amtrack passengers than the cause of serious environmental problems.

The disturbing news however, are reports from Whitefish of more and more train loads of oil from the Bakken fields in North Dakota and Eastern Montana passing through northwest Montana.

BNSF tracks follow our waterways nearly all the way to the west coast once the tracks cross the Continental Divide. Spills of corn, soy beans, or in one case, 200 tons of frozen turkeys and chicken are generally contained near the tracks and it is not often that the spilled produce ends up in the river. There have been petroleum spills, like the car load of hot asphalt that went into the Clark Fork from a Montana Rail Link accident in 1999 and just this past summer, BNSF finished cleanup from a 1989 spill of diesel fuel that contaminated Whitefish Lake and River for more than 20 years, but in general environmental damage is recoverable.

This past year, BNSF announced that it has boosted its capacity to carry 1 million barrels of Bakken oil per day. In 2012 there were an estimated 200,000 rail cars of crude oil shipped across the U.S. The Bakken oil fields are estimated to contain over 900 billion barrels of crude oil, up 57% from a 2010 estimate of 577 billion barrels, of which they expected to retirieve 24 billion barrels.

Due to a shortage of pipelines in this part of the country, most of the Bakken oil is shipped by rail to Oklahoma, Louisiana and the East Coast, however, much of the oil is also being shipped west to coastal ports or refineries on trains often containing more than 100 rail cars loaded with crude. A single rail car can contain up to 30,000 gallons of crude oil.

Given these huge numbers, how long can we expect before one of these oil trains ends up in our Montana waters? Mostly our waters can handle even a fairly large spill of soy beans or corn, but toxic crude oil is another matter altogether. The amount of oil released from the Yellowstone River pipeline spill last year dumped about 63,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River, or about two rail cars worth. What if that amount of oil ends up in the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, or the Fisher River, or one of the smaller tributaries? What kind of damage can we expect to some of our most fragile and valuable native fish populations? What preparations have been made for the eventuality of an oil spill in Montana waters from the rail shipments?

MTU ACTION ALERT!

ACTION ALERT!

Flathead TU members and Friends,

Tell your senator TODAY to oppose a bill that sanctions unlimited use of groundwater sources that are critical for recharging trout streams!

Background

The Montana Senate’s Natural Resources Committee is considering approving SB 19, a bill supported by realtors and developers that codifies a detrimental loophole in the state’s groundwater permitting system. This loophole allows unlimited use of so-called “exempt” groundwater wells, which individually cannot exceed 30 gallons per minute or 10-acre-feet-a year.  SB 19 allows developers to escape state review of the effects of large-scale groundwater use in new subdivisions – which occurs when they use large, easily monitored centralized wells — by sanctioning the clustering of an UNLIMITED number of exempt wells. The cumulative effect of developments with many exempt wells can reduce groundwater recharge of connected trout streams. The loophole also can harm irrigators with senior water rights in connected streams that are already over-used, which is why agricultural groups also oppose the bill.

Take Action

Contact key members on the Natural Resources Committee TODAY  and tell them to oppose SB 19 because:

• It sanctions unlimited use of groundwater without any determination of how it will affect senior water rights holders, such as local irrigators.
•   It will result in depletions of local streams where existing users already have water rights.
• It will reduce streamflows in important fisheries.
• Reasonable alternatives have been offered that ensure future groundwater development can occur but on an orderly basis without loopholes that can harm existing users.

Committee members are:
Jennifer Fielder (Thomsan Falls) sen.jfielder@legmt.gov
Brad Hamlett (Cascade) senatorhamlett@gmail.com
Verdell Jackson (Kalispell) vjack@centurytel.net
Ed Walker (Billings) ewalker@edwalker2010.com
Matt Rosendale (Glendive) mattrosendale@midrivers.com
Cliff Larsen (Missoula) cliff@larsenusa.com
Rick Ripley (Wolf Creek) Ripleys@3riversdbs.net

To email these Senators all at once CLICK HERE for a link (you will be redirected to montanatu.org for the link)
or
Call the legislative switchboard at 406-444-4800 and leave them a message.

If you are a constituent of one of these legislators, please let them know.
For more information, contact:

Laura Ziemer at lziemer@tu.org or Mark Aagenes at  mark@montanatu.org.

Stay informed! Get involved!  For information about issues affecting trout and their watersheds, check out Montana Trout Unlimited at montanatu.org or on FaceBook and Twitter @MontanaTU.

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Montana Trout Unlimited: 406-543-0054
Thank you!

Important Action Alert From Montana TU

Conservation Alert from Montana Trout Unlimited

12 December 2012

Dear Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited Members and Friends,

Weigh in today on crucial tribal water accord affecting instream flows across Western Montana!

The State of Montana, federal government and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have reached a draft agreement that quantifies long-held tribal water rights on and off the Flathead Indian Reservation, including for the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Swan and Kootenai River basins. The draft results from years of negotiations, benefits native bull and cutthroat trout on the reservation, and will help protect fisheries important to TU members in some of western Montana’s best trout streams.

It is critical that TU members comment by December 17!

Please tell the State’s negotiating team, the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, that you support the draft agreement. In your own words, tell the commission:

The tribes have dropped many legitimate claims to ensure that current non-tribal water users are protected. Please point this out, thank the tribes for doing so, and ask the Commission to commend the tribes for this action.

The agreement furthers economic development by providing certainty for necessary water development in the Flathead region. For example, it establishes a water rights system and identifies measurable instream flow objectives on the reservation.

The benefits of the draft agreement extend well beyond the reservation boundaries and the interests of tribal members – the negotiating teams have fully ensured that the interests of existing non-tribal water right users have been protected.

Instream flow proposals on the reservation for the Jocko River watershed, the Flathead River system, and lakes and streams from the Mission Mountains, will improve fisheries and ensure current tribal and non-tribal water users benefit from investments in water conservation.

Instream flow protections off-reservation for the Kootenai, Swan and Clark Fork Rivers will help ensure streamflows hold steady as the climate gets warmer.

The draft proposal for co-ownership between Montana FWP and the tribes of the former 2,000 CFS Milltown Dam water right needs to be improved. The amount of water that should be protected for instream flows should be 1,300 CFS instead of 1,200 CFS, with 700 CFS from the Blackfoot and 600 CFS from the Clark Fork. This is the most important element in the agreement affecting fish off-reservation.

The Milltown instream water right can be met with minimal impacts to existing upstream water users because the State of Montana will be investing millions of dollars of Clark Fork restoration funding into flow improvement.

Opponents of the draft agreement are hammering the State and Tribes, many citing wild and inaccurate conspiracies. It is really important for TU members to comment. The Compact Commission will weigh what you have to say, consider modifications, and decide on December 19th whether to forward the agreement to the Montana Legislature, which is the first step in ratification of this important accord.

Contact Chris Tweeten, Chairman, Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission at dnrrwrcc@mt.gov. Send a copy of your comments to Rob McDonald of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at rmcdonald@cskt.org.

For more information, contact Bruce Farling at bruce@montanatu.org or 406-543-0054.

For more background click here for an article regarding the compact in our latest Trout Line.