Christine's Makeover Part 3: A New Begginning

Christine is reborn!

It was a ton of work and it took a bit longer than anticipated but the great boat makeover is over!! She had her second "maiden" voyage on the Big Hole River yesterday.  I was too excited about it to actually take good pictures but you can expect more to come.

Click here for the before pictures. 

Inside back after interior paint with doors and seat benches removed

The back deck got a non-slip additive in the final coat of paint to make it a great casting platform and the dog doesn't slip all over the place anymore. The entire floor surface also non-slip.  All wood surfaces received at least 3 coats of marine spar varnish and are glowing again.  They look even sexier than ever with some patina.

Inside front after interior paint with doors and seat benches removed

Shiny, stinky, and beautiful!  We accidently picked a different color for the inside this time.  It has a light blue tint which I love.  It looks a lot cleaner and more boaty than the old color.

Finished boat, ready to fish!

Here is a crappy picture I took while we were loading up to float in the morning.  You can see the floor system, the doors are back on, and the new rower's seat is installed.

The boat looks better than when it was brand new.  This is the first major overhaul since I first built it 8 years ago.  I beat the absolute crap out of this boat and now she's ready for a bunch more.  Some of the work I had to do this time, I should have done when I built it. So, it was a much larger project than it would have been otherwise.  While wooden boats do require some love every couple of years, it's absolutely worth it.  Even if you didn't build your boat, you'll still get a great feeling when you see how gorgeous your boat looks on the water after some winter love.

There will certainly be better pictures of this posted soon...

Montana Tech Restoration Seminar Presents: Robert Moler of EPA

The public is invited and encouraged to attend this, and all Restoration Seminars!

Clark Fork Coalition Fall volunteer opportunities

Fall field season is here...

Help us squeeze in the last few projects of the season! We need volunteers to assist with cleanups, fall plantings, and getting kids excited about the river. So bundle up and come enjoy the changing colors and crisp air while working to protect Missoula's favorite river!

1) Reserve St River Cleanup:
Friday, October 14th:1-3pm and/or 3-5pm
Help remove tons of trash from the floodplain near the Reserve St bridge during this unique river cleanup. This is CFC's 4th year of partnering with the Water Quality District and the Poverello Center to remove abandoned encampments from along the river. We need lots of hands for this event... last year, volunteers cleaned up over 3 tons of trash! Contact Katie to learn more or to sign up!

2) Dry Cottonwood Creek Restoration Workday: 
Saturday, October 15th: 7am-3pm
We're looking for 2 or 3 volunteers to help put the finishing touches on a large-scale restoration project on the Clark Fork Coalition's ranch property near Deer Lodge. Volunteers will be planting willows and other native riparian vegetation. Transportation from Missoula provided!

3) Volunteer Educators:
2016/2017 School Year
It's back to school time! Throughout the school year, we'll be looking for help with teaching watershed science to kiddos in Missoula and beyond. Contact Katie to learn more about how you can help!

To get involved, contact Katie at katie@clarkfork.org or (406) 542-0539 ext. 212. If you haven't done so already, please fill out a volunteer application. 

(Pictures and info were copied from an email)

Montana Tech Restoration Ecology Seminar Presents: Rob Roberts of Trout Unlimited

Tomorrow, April 6, 2016, the Montana Tech Ecological Restoration Seminar presents Rob Roberts of Trout Unlimited.  

Rob has been spearheading stream restoration projects all along the Clark Fork.  He started the Nine Mile valley work and is now working on the Upper Little Blackfoot River, an important tributary to the Upper Clark Fork.

This is not one to be missed!!  The seminar is on the Montana Tech campus, in Butte, Montana in the Chemistry and Biology Building (room 102) @ 4 pm.  This seminar is open to the public!

I'll see you there!

Southwest Montana fisheries improvement meeting on Monday in Butte

Silver Bow Creek cutthroat trout

Next Monday, January 11th 2015, there is a public meeting to discuss the improvement of Southwest Montana fisheries. At 6:30 pm Ron Spoon, State Fisheries Biologist, will give a presentation on the Jefferson River Project, a restoration project which is helping make the Jefferson River into a world-class trout fishery. 

Also, Josh Vincent of Water and Environmental Technologies (WET), a local environmental engineering firm, will discuss how he, Pat Munday, and Steve Luebeck utilized a grant they received on behalf of the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited which they used for habitat improvements on German Gulch, the most important tributary (for trout) to Silver Bow Creek. 

The meeting is at the Butte Business Development Center at 305 W. Mercury Street in Butte, Montana.  This is the old Boys Central School Building.

See you there!!

Info from The Montana Standard

"Be a Part of the Story" - Clark Fork Coalition

George Grant Chapter of TU will meet to discuss cleanup and restoration of Clark Fork R. and Silver Bow Cr. (updated)

The George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited is holding a Board of Directors meeting and the public is invited.  Some folks representing TU and the MT DOJ, as well as, Joe Griffin (retired MT DEQ hydrogeologist and all-around bad-ass) will be giving a presentation on the restoration and mine waste cleanup on Silver Bow Creek and the Upper Clark Fork River.

Updates:

• Casey Hackathorn of Trout Unlimited (national) will present on the Upper Clark Fork and its tributaries.
• Jason Lindstrom of MT FWP will present electro-fishing data from Silver Bow Creek.
• Pat Cunneen of the BNRC will likely present on efforts to remove the Parrot Tailings, Diggins East, and Northside Tailings from the banks of Upper Silver Bow Creek in Butte.

This is not one to be missed!!

The meeting is Monday, December 14, at 6:30 pm in the Business Development Center @ 305 W. Mercury St. in Butte, Montana. 

Come on, WTF MT-FWP!?

The area of the Upper Clark Fork which has been closed for years and then re-opened on September 15 is now CLOSED again!  Come on!  They just put a sticker over 2015 and extended the closure for another year.

I completely understand wanting to protect the newly restored and revegetated streambanks (ecological restoration and plant ecology is my job and what I study), but this is a bit extreme.  The ridiculous amount of browse protection is doing more damage to the vegetation than the tiny handful of people that fish down there, but I digress.  This just really sucks.

The stupid sticker

Restore Our Creek Fundraiser at Headframe Spirits

Next Tuesday, December 1,  the Restore Our Creek Coalition will host a fundraiser from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Headframe Spirits, 21 S. Montana St. in Butte, America

"Coalition members will provide information and discuss the need for removal of contaminated waste from Silver Bow Creek.

The coalition includes Project Green, Butte Citizens Technical Environmental Committee, Butte Natural Resource Damage Restoration Council, Trout Unlimited, Citizens for Labor and Environmental Justice, and other concerned individuals and groups." -MTStandard

This is a great reason to have some great cocktails for a great cause!!  See you there.

Superstition Ball - A fundraiser for the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program

The Clark Fork Watershed Education Program is a great organization!  They are holding a formal Ball as a fundraiser in the Grand Hotel in Butte, Montana this Friday, November 13, 2015.

"The Clark Fork Watershed Education Program (CFWEP) has been a leading provider of environmental and restoration education programs and services in western Montana since 2005. Based at the Montana Tech Institute for Educational Opportunities in Butte, Montana, CFWEP offers multi-disciplinary science and history programs for schools, teachers, and students in and around the Upper Clark Fork Basin. CFWEP also offers public education and outreach services such as tours, events, and publications that connect the public with the science and history of the amazing landscape of western Montana.
The CFWEP is fully equipped to provide education and information regarding watershed health, ecosystems and biota in uninjured, injured and restored stream reaches, anchored by historic and environmental context. Along with our staff of science and education experts, volunteer scientists and environmental experts working in western Montana design research and monitoring programs and provide up-to-date information, often working directly with students, teachers and citizens who want to learn more about the natural world around us.
The CFWEP staff is supported by an Advisory Board of education, science, and local experts. CFWEP also works extensively with government agencies and community groups around western Montana.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of CFWEP, past successes, and some of the educational programs we provide, download the “CFWEP: Place-Based Science-Inquiry Education in a Superfund Site” PowerPoint Presentation."
-From cfwep.org

Clark Fork Coalition hosting Modesty Creek restoration presentation in Missoula (updated)

Photo from clarkfork.org

Next Tuesday at 12:00 pm, the Clark Fork Coalition will be having a presentation about the recently restored/reconnected Modesty Creek as part of their "Walks and Talks" series.  The presentation will be at their office in Missoula at 140 S. 4th St. W.  The  restoration site is upstream from the town of Deer Lodge.  Modesty Creek is a tributary to the Upper Clark Fork and has been diverted and disconnected from the Clark Fork for a long time.

Visit the Clark Fork Coalition's website for more information on the project and the field trip.

"Two Rivers" the movie about the Milltown Dam story premiers Sunday!!

I am so excited and can not wait to see this movie!!  High Plains Films, the makers of "Against the Storm" about the bison in Yellowstone, the award-winning "Libby, Montana" documenting WR Grace Co. and the asbestos insanity and "All the Labor" about the band The Gourds as well as many other films will be premiering "Two Rivers" this Sunday at the Top Hat in Missoula!

Just watching the trailer made me emotional.  I live in Butte now, went to school with all the people from the Stimson mill who were laid off, and cut my teeth in restoration down in the Milltown floodplain.  I can not wait to see this!

RBM presents, Death by a Thousand Cuts: Restoring Stream Connectivity and Flows for Native Fish in the Land of Irrigation Diversions

The above picture is a map made by Trout Unlimited of the irrigation diversions in the Little Blackfoot Valley in Montana.  We used this info to perform the Upper Clark Fork Fish Passage Assessment for the MT Natural Resource Damages Program.

Tomorrow at 4:00 pm, I will be giving a public presentation on the conservation and restoration issues posed by the insane amount of irrigation diversions on Montana streams.  The presentation will be in the Chemistry and Biology Building on the Montana Tech campus in Butte, Montana tomorrow, Sept. 9th 2015.  Come and learn how these diversions affect our native fish and how folks are coming together to restore stream connectivity and stop fish entrainment in irrigation ditches.

Restore Our Creek Stroll a success!

Butte citizens concerned about their stream and future 

The "Restore our Creek Stroll" had a great turnout last week.  The citizens of Butte, MT showed up to learn about the threats that the Parrot Tailings plume poses to the newly restored Lower Silver Bow Creek and the Clark Fork River.  Local folks from the DEQ and the MT Natural Resource Damages Program as well as the local groups which are really pushing the movement to get rid of the toxic tailings and reclassify the "Metro Storm Drain" back to what it truly is, Silver Bow Creek, put together a great program with music and transportation.  This new classification for the "Metro Storm Drain" would grant this section of the creek the same protections as all other streams under the Clean Water Act.

There will be another event in the fall.  Please show your support and look to the RBM Chronicles for more information on this event.

Pat Cunneen (BNRC) shows some ideas for a restored Upper Silver Bow Creek

Joe Griffin of Montana DEQ (retired) explains the Parrot Tailings Plume

Lost Horse Creek Stream Restoration - CFC Event Today!

Two groups pushing for more Silver Bow Creek Restoration

Photo courtesy of http://www.geochemicaltransactions.com/

Butte, MT's Silver Bow Creek was the original "Shit Creek."  It was used as a sewer; industrial mine waste, reduction, and smelting dump; as well as being polluted from secondary industries to the mines.  For many years, the "riparian" area of Silver Bow as it flowed out of Butte towards Anaconda looked more like Mars than a stream in Montana.  While the creek still has some serious pollution problems, the majority of its length has seriously benefited from restoration activities stemming from the Superfund listing in the 90's.

However, the "creek" upstream from the confluence with Blacktail Creek right in Butte, is not considered a creek at all.  It is technically Butte's Metro Storm Drain.  This classification allows for much less regulation and protections than if it were a true "stream."

Two groups, the Silver Bow Creek Headwaters Coalition and Project Green have rallied to push for stream restoration for the Metro Storm Drain.  Silver Bow Creek Headwaters Coalition even filed a lawsuit (2010) over the Metro Storm Drain classification.   

While I'm all about stream restoration, there is a lot to be considered here and currently I have no strong stance on the subject.  Here's what I do know. This section of Silver Bow is dry unless there is a major rain event as the water that would flow in the creek is diverted to an underground storm drain system. The restored part of Silver Bow downstream is becoming a great fishery (believe it or not) and I really enjoy the new, super long trail system that runs along it.  However, by midsummer, the flows and temps in Silver Bow get really low and warm, threatening this great new asset.  If the Metro Storm Drain section was to be restored, I'd hope this would add significantly more water to the system.  Furthermore, there would be a great natural conduit for delivering more clean water to Silver Bow once the water treatment begins in the Berkeley pit.

No matter what happens, it's good to see people give a damn about Silver Bow.  Get the full story in today's MT Standard.  

        

Where the Clark Fork begins

Outlet spillway for the Anaconda Settling Ponds

The Clark Fork River is the largest river by volume in the great state of Montana, USA.  Technically, its name is the Clark Fork of the Columbia River.  It get's its name from William Clark, the white explorer of the Lewis and Clark, Corps of Discovery.

The Clark Fork is a beautiful stream that exhibits a variety of personalities as it meanders westward out of the high Deer Lodge valley towards Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.  Some famous MT trout streams make up the major tributaries including Rock Creek, the Blackfoot, and the Bitterroot.  The Flathead system also empties into the system down by Paradise.

The Clark Fork also has a gnarly history of abuse.  I mean seriously gnarly abuse!  If you have been a reader of this blog for any amount of time you've got an idea of the insanity that this stream has gone through. Abuses include being a dumping ground for a century of industrial scale mining and smeltering in the headwaters, smaller-scale (but no less destructive) mining in the tributaries, agricultural damage, interstates and railways, urbanization, de-watering, dams, sewage, invasive species, and much more.

If you root for the underdogs of the world like I do, the Clark Fork is sure to make you smile.  Despite the insanity, this river is still a world class trout fishery for most of its length.  It runs through some absolutely beautiful country and learning the history is super interesting.  In many ways, the Clark Fork is like the aorta which runs out of the historic heart of Montana - Butte.

The future of the Clark Fork is bright.  If you get the chance, fish it, learn about it, and love it.  You will not be disappointed!

WestSlope TU meeting on Wed profiles the upper Clark Fork Restoration Project

Check out the WestSlope Chapter of Trout Unlimited's homepage for more information.  You may see a familiar fly right on their homepage now.  How cool is that!!

I'll be there showcasing an easy to tie, super effective, winter/summer  dry pattern from one of the greats of upper Clark Fork region.  

Celebration at the Rock Creek confluence!!

Why the celebration?  Check out this older post.

Book tease: Opportunity, Montana - Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape

I am halfway through this great book about the Clark Fork's obliteration due to 100 years of industrial scale mining. Today, I came a cross a great quote that I wanted to share. There are many analogies which seek to make this same point however, this one is my favorite:

"I tend not to trust extremist and ideologues.  It's not about preferring the middle of the road, it's that 'road' is too rigid a metaphor.  On a river, you can't afford to hug strictly the right or left bank and still hope to arrive downstream. You have to follow the current where it leads, left, right, or center.  Sometimes you have to get out and walk."

Eroded banks comprised of toxic mine waste below Warm Springs, MT

Mine waste stream bank