Steelhead in the Standard?

Idaho will implement catch-and-release only steelhead regulations. We've got our hands full with environmental issues here in Butte, Montana.  So, you know it's a big deal when our local paper runs a story about steelhead in Idaho.  The article comes from the Lewiston Tribune.  Read it here.

The Worlds Most Sophisticated Drift Boat Sails Lake Berkeley

Photo from the Montana Standard

A story in Butte's Montana Standard described the successful launch of a drift boat drone. It was developed at Montana Tech. They had had some technical issues with the launch earlier in the week. The boat is designed to be remote controlled and also collect water samples of the toxic pit water.

Live from your Montana St. Pat's Headquaters

Happy St. Patricks Day from Butte, America!  Check out the live cam from the M & M Bar brought to you by the Montana Standard.  St. Pats is on Friday this year and Butte is going to be a crazy place to be today.  Stay safe everyone!

Montana Standard's "Caddis Conundrum" describes the Missouri River bug study

The Montana Standard has a great article titled, "Caddis Conundrum" which discusses the macroinvertebrate study performed by Morrison Maierle Inc.  The study was commissioned by the Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance.

It sought to make baseline observations of the macroinvertebrate communities in the Missouri River below Holter Dam.  In the past decade, the river has had significant ecological and structural changes which have manifested in a change in bug densities and communities.

I hope they'll get to continue this study in the long term because although these preliminary results are interesting, they mean nothing without observations over a longer time interval.

Restore Our Creek Coalition and the Montana Standard to hold public forum on the Parrot tailings

The Restore Our Creek Coalition and the Montana Standard will be holding a public forum to discuss the removal of the Parrot Tailings along Upper Silver Bow Creek.  This should be a really cool meeting because representatives from the EPA, the MT DEQ, ARCO, BNRC, and Butte Silver Bow will all be together in one place with the public.

The forum will be at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, January, 19th at the Mining City Center, 400 West Park Street, in Butte, Montana.

Jerry Kustich, Co-founder of Sweetgrass Rods, criticizes DU in the Standard

Jerry Kustich wrote a great Letter to the Editor for the Montana Standard about the Ducks Unlimited/James Cox ordeal.  He has lived in Twin Bridges for the last 30 years (the area where Cox's contested bridges are).  He's also the co-founder of Sweetgrass Rods, a bamboo rod company in Twin Bridges.  

Great article Mr. Kustich!!

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).