After a long wait, the M&M will open again in Butte this Friday!

According to the MTStandard, the M&M will reopen this Friday in time for the Christmas Stroll. Come see Butte all decked out for the holidays and take a break and get a drink in the historic M&M Cigar Store!


Lots of events going on, not enough fishing!  It's also the end of the semester and it has been freezing freakin cold out. There's a lot of pink on the tying desk (dining room table) as I prepare for a winter full of nymphing for the big guys.  

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.

Bitterroot Water Forum Holiday Party

It's my time!

Early winter on the Bitterroot

I love to fish in the winter.  There is just something about it that makes it more mysterious or something.  I always catch the biggest fish in the winter which may be part of it.  Also, there is no one around, no tubers, no dudes, no noise.  I certainly love the spring and fall but winter holds a special place in my heart. Summer can go suck it!

 

Most people spend the winter tying flies or skiing and I do enjoy that too.  However, if it gets above 32 deg F, I'll be damned if you don't find me mining a winter run for some silver and gold.  In the Butte area we have a solid couple of winter options to choose from.  We've got the newly restored tailwater section of the Upper Clark Fork below the Warm Springs Ponds, the Beaverhead is a wintertime must, the Ruby will be on the radar big-time this year, and the mighty MO is an hour and a half away.  That's just a start really...

  

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Researchers discover the cause of whirling disease is a "micro jellyfish"

Photo from: http://science.peru.edu/ 

Researchers from the Univeristy of Kansas have determined that the Myxozoa that causes whirling disease in Salmonidae are included in the jellyfish phylum (Cnidaria).  They are composed of just a few cells and have "one of the smallest animal genomes ever reported: about 20 million base pairs only."

Read more about it here.

Montana Tech Restoration Ecology Seminar presents: Dr. Cara Nelson of the University of Montana

Dr. Cara Nelson is the Associate Professor of Restoration Ecology and the Undergraduate Program Director for Ecological Restoration.  She is also the Vice Chair (former Chair) of the Society for Ecological Restoration, an international nonprofit committed to promoting "ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture."

She is also one of my mentors, previous boss, and great friend.

Her talk is titled "Setting Appropriate Goals for Restoration."  The seminar is on the Montana Tech Campus in Butte, Montana in the Chemistry and Biology Building (room 102) today November 18, 2015, @ 4 pm.

Vive la France

Ducks Unlimited fires columnist who criticized landowner fighting MT's Stream Access Law

Photo by Lane Coulston of the Jefferson River Canoe Trail Association

An article in the Montana Standard today described that a columnist for Ducks Unlimited Magazine was fired after he wrote an article critical of James Cox Kennedy's legal battle to deny the public their constitutional right to access the Ruby River in Montana.  Kennedy was formerly a board member of the organization and is a large donor. 

Kennedy is a huge financial supporter for conservation organizations and programs, but I assume he only thinks rich landowners should have access to these public (see MT constitution and Supreme Court Rulings) conserved lands or waterways.

  

Although I see this as duck egg on the face of Ducks Unlimited, they also do great work in the conservation world and according to the article, Ducks Unlimited has not taken a stance on stream access (although this move seems to make a statement).  

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

Crown of the Continent and the Greater Yellowstone Magazine - Summer/Fall 2015

Check out this fabulous publication from the University of Montana.  There are some great articles on the battle against invasive lake trout in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.

Montana Tech Orediggers beat #1 Southern Oregon for conference title!

Congrats to the MT Tech football team for beating the #1 ranked Southern Oregon Raiders for a share of the Frontier Conference Title!!

Montana Tech Restoration Ecology Seminar Presents: Len Ballek of Herrera Environmental Consulting

Len Ballek is the Senior Ecologist for Herrera Environmental Consulting and has a ton of experience with ecological restoration all over the West.  His talk is titled "Basics of Effective Native Plant Restoration"  The seminar is on the Montana Tech Campus in Butte, Montana in the Chemistry and Biology Building (room 102) today November 4, 2015, @ 4 pm.

Revegetation is a major aspect of both land and stream restoration, as seen in this picture in the Upper Clark Fork Area. Plus, it provides a place for the dog to hide...

Biologists are puzzled by the cloudy water on the Beaverhead River

Starting in mid-July, we watched as the Beaverhead River became cloudier and murkier by the week. It started out with a glacier-like blue/green silty color.  A couple of weeks later, it was down right blown-out looking,  The fishing really sucked as well.  I had never seen the Beav like that and it turns out, neither had a lot of other people.

State biologists are "stumped" by the condition which showed up for a couple of weeks last year but lasted all summer this year.

There is a great article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle about it.

The Beav is one of my favorite places to fish.  I hope this can be figured out!

Here is another great link which provides a couple of hypothesis given at the meeting in Dillon on Oct. 27th.