Montana Rivers to Flow Free – but at What Cost?
I recently came across an interesting story in the Missoulian, which I read from time to time to see how the trout fishing is up in Big Sky Country.
Missoula is home to a handful of blue-ribbon trout fisheries, including nearby Rock Creek and the Bitterroot, Blackfoot (the inspiration for “A River Runs Through It”) and Clark Fork rivers.
The confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork, however, is anything but a fly fisher’s dream getaway as the area has been converted into a construction zone of late. The good news is the construction is part of the Milltown Dam removal project, which will return the two rivers to their natural state for the for time in 100 years.
Problem is, researchers are uncertain how the dam removal will affect the Clark Fork’s ecosystem. Clark Fork, for those who aren’t familiar with Western Montana, is the river that runs through the heart of Missoula and is where a number of fly guides make their living. Fish kills are expected and the river could be three to five years away from returning to its natural state, so you can understand the concern in Big Sky Country as this project goes forward.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the dam removal in the comment section below.
The Clark Fork runs through downtown Missoula. Photo by Brian Milne.
Comments
Hey, coming from someone who lives right here in the heart of the storm home sweat home missoula MT. This has been one of the hottest topics in town to all of the fishermen. I have to say its going to be good in the long run for the clark fork but yes at a real big price. I spend alot of time fishing around west of town and have some of the best fishing ive ever experianced hooking into 2 to 3 lb trout as with some white fish at times. they can be just as fun. Here inlies the problems. not all of the sedement will be removed before the dam comes out. spring run off will wash out some fo or all of the dirt and contaminants bringing them to town. The level of the toxins dont realy bother me due to the fact i work on the river restoration project and know that youwill need to eat the dirt every day for the rest of your life for it to have any effect upon you. So what realy is the problem is just the soil movement. My thoughts are that when it does start to move it will murk the water so bad that the fish will have no oxygen to breath until late in the summer. end result, dead fish clear to Noxin res. What can be done? Spend a little more of ASARCO’S and the federal goverments money to remove even more of the material before removing the damn or the redirection of river flow to allow removal of the dam. If not done then fishing the Clark Fork will be gone for sevral years or at worst forever. hopefully the effects will last as little as possible and I can get back to some of my favorite holes with someof the big trout and be able to hook up year around like its been for the last 5 years. mabey now that there is someone talking from the heart of the problem others will follow.
thanks,
Greg