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Newsletter from the Montana Council of Trout UnlimitedTROUT LINE
Good news for the Big Blackfoot by staff
Mining cleanup advances in Blackfoot River headwaters
see BLACKFOOT, page 6
Fall2015
The infamous tailings dam on Beartrap Creek,
long a catastrophe waiting to happen, has been removed, and the upper reaches of that
creek are being restored.
Illegally planted walleyes discovered in Swan Lake by Bruce Farling
see VANDALS, page 7
Fishery vandals strike again
Boy, this is getting old. State and federal biologists got a surprise last month when they found two 17-inch
walleyes while gillnetting for lake trout in Montana’s Swan Lake. And so another important Montana fishing destination -- which features one of the best remaining bull trout populations in the Northwest -- is faced with the illegal presence of a highly predacious species that can screw up popular sport fisheries. Some person or persons took it upon themselves to dump walleyes into Swan Lake to satisfy their selfish interest for this species, and to heck with the rest of us. It’s an incredibly dumb and potentially catastrophic move. Montana FWP has never stocked walleyes in Swan Lake, and for good
reason: The lake has long been a fine fishery for kokanee salmon and bull trout. In recent years, those fisheries have taken a hit from another species that doesn’t belong there -- lake trout that were either planted illegally, or, which somehow navigated a dam that blocked the connection with Flathead Lake. Agency biologists and Montana TU and its Flathead Valley Chapter have endeavored to reduce Swan Lake’s laker population with gillnets in recent years. It looks like this effort might, just might, be succeeding. Last year kokanee numbers and angling increased significantly, and the recent dramatic drop in bull trout spawning seems to have been arrested. This is a bad time to discover yet another
Progress at cleaning up the many complicated sources of mining pollution plaguing the Blackfoot
River’s headwaters is proceeding apace. Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality is tackling wastes and acid- and metals discharges from mine openings on non-federal lands, while the U.S Forest Service is focusing on the same problems on its nearby tracts. Montana TU and its Big Blackfoot Chapter have been pushing for a comprehensive cleanup since the late 1980s. After fits and starts, including failed experiments resulting from the State allowing the liable parties, Asarco and Arco, to do “voluntary cleanups,” additional legal action and
Asarco’s bankruptcy produced some $40 million to get the job done. Post cleanup habitat restoration, including channel and floodplain reconstruction of the upper river,
will be aided by the trust fund established from the State of Montana’s successful natural resource damage claim against BP/Arco for historical damages in the Clark Fork watershed. Tens of thousands of yards of contaminated material have been removed in the last year and trucked to an engineered and lined
repository away from vulnerable ground and surface water sources. The infamous tailings dam on Beartrap Creek, long
Mike Horse Mine tailings repository site
Gillnetting boat on Swan Lake
problematic species in the lake, a point amplified by a report that the captured walleyes had kokanee in their stomachs. Illegal fish planting, sometimes cutely called “bucket biology,” but more accurately labeled vandalism or criminal activity, is rampant in
a catastrophe waiting to happen, has been removed, and the upper reaches of that creek are being restored. Perhaps the two most difficult challenges remaining are how to deal with
a number of old mine portals that are
discharging acidic and metals pollution, as well as what to do with tailings that settled into wetlands after the original tailings dam washed out in 1975. Some of the discharges will need to be collected and treated in an on-site treatment plant for years to come. Some scattered portals will simply be plugged in hopes their small discharges will have negligible impacts over time. The Department
From the Chairman and Director
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MONTANA TU’S MISSION is to conserve, protect and restore Montana’s world-class coldwater fi sheries and their watersheds.
Founded in 1964, Montana Trout Unlimited is a statewide grassroots organization comprised of 13 chapters and approximately 4,000 TU members.
Cutthroat trout plates are available at your county motor vehicle offi ce.
TROUT LINE is published quarterly by Montana Trout Unlimited.
EDITING AND DESIGN......BRUCE FARLING & KATE GRANT
Printed on recycled paper using eco-friendly inks.
© 2015 Montana Council of Trout Unlimited.
Fall 2015
FALL / 2015
www.montanatu.org
speak up
@MontanaTUfacebook.com/MontanaTU
Have you checked out Montana TU online lately?
Stay informed with our daily updates on Facebook, Twitter and on our two websites:
MontanaTU.org and SmithRiverWatch.orgFind out about the latest TU projects and events in your area, and stay informed on issues important to anglers and cold-water conservationists.
facebook.com/MontanaTU
@MontanaTU
The annual $20 for the plates goes directly to Montana TU programs.
This last year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule clarifying that protections
in the federal Clean Water Act should apply, like it has in the past, to many headwater streams and wetlands that feed our rivers and keep fi sheries healthy. The rule also helps keep Montana’s economy strong by protecting our $907 million-a-year sport fi shery, as well as the 45,000 jobs tied to Montana tourism. Not surprisingly, however, Montana developers, mining companies and contractor groups vociferously oppose the rule, claiming it’s federal overreach (unlike, apparently, the free federal minerals they receive, or the huge federal construction contracts they profi t from). Most disappointingly has been the opposition of some agricultural organizations. Professional lobbyists have done a good job spreading fear among some ranchers and farmers that the rule is harmful to their interests. But the truth is, they need clean water, too, and the rule explicitly grants most of their practices the same exemptions from regulation that they have enjoyed since the Clean Water Act passed in 1972. In one of the driest years on record in Montana, it makes little sense that anyone should be fi ghting for the ability to damage or increase pollution of our
diminishing water resources. Our headwater streams, including those that don’t run year-round, supply seasonal irrigation water and drinking water for many communities. Attacking the
rule also attacks our economy and state’s well being, which is inextricably tied to clean water. TU members should continue speaking up in letters and op-eds and at community gatherings in support of the
clean water rule. Please urge our congressional delegation, the governor and our attorney general to support the rule. Today, only Senator Jon Tester has stepped out to unequivocally support this common-sense rule. But that’s what you’d expect from a practicing farmer. He gets the water connection. Please thank him for opposing recent measures in Congress that would have killed the rule and promoted more pollution. Implementation of the rule, originally embodied in the Clean Water Act that Congress passed by a huge bipartisan majority more than 40 years ago, is critical. Many of our Montana businesses rely on clean water. If you speak up, you CAN make a difference.
Bruce FarlingExecutive Director
Chris SchustromChairman
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OFFICERSCHRIS SCHUSTROM, CHAIRMAN
Whitefish(406) 260-1198
SHARON SWEENEY FEE, VICE CHAIRWOMAN
Livingston (406) 579-7735
DOUG HAACKE, PAST CHAIRMAN Billings
(406) [email protected]
DAN SHORT, NLC DIRECTORKalispell
(406) [email protected]
BRIAN NEILSEN, TREASURERGreat Falls
(406) [email protected]
LYLE COURTNAGE, SECRETARYBillings
(406) [email protected]
DAN VERMILLION, NATIONAL TRUSTEELivingston
(406) [email protected]
MONTANA TU STAFFPO Box 7186
Missoula, MT 59807
Phone: (406) 543-0054
BRUCE FARLINGEXECUTIVE [email protected]
KELLEY WILLETTDIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
KATE GRANTPROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR
KENDRA SAWITZKYOUTREACH [email protected]
MONTANA COUNCIL OF
TROUT UNLIMITED
Montana Trout Unlimitedsee COONEY, page 6
From the Development Director
Meet Colin Cooney
Smith River organizer on board with TU
Because the Black Butte Copper project proposed by Tintina Resources poses
high risks to Sheep Creek, one of the most important suppliers of cold, clean water and trout spawning habitat to the Smith River, Trout Unlimited national is chipping in to help deal with this ill-conceived venture. TU hired Colin Cooney as an organizer to help get the word on the street about the threat to the Smith River and its fishery. Colin is a fourth generation Montanan, Montana State University graduate and former Smith River ranger. His job is educating as many people as possible in order to build a critical mass in the state that embraces this message: The Governor of Montana and his Department of Environmental Quality should not approve a mining permit for Tintina as long as there is even a remote chance of harm to water, fish, landowners or
the recreational economy the river supports, including its $7.5 million-a-year fishery. Colin has spoken with outfitters and guides who operate on the Smith, as well as folks who run flyshops in Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls, Cascade, Craig and Missoula. He’s also getting the word out to raft rental operators and travel agencies in Great Falls and Bozeman, conservation groups in Helena and Livingston, and a rotary club in Bozeman. He’ll be busy this winter visiting student groups, civic organizations, businesses,
Colin is a fourth generation Montanan,
MSU graduate and former Smith River ranger.
Colin Cooney
Montana TU is grateful to Gary and Norma Buchanan of Billings, who hosted more than 40 guests
at Buchanan Capital, Inc., their company headquarters, for an informal reception on November 12. Gary is an avid angler and honorary life member of Trout Unlimited and when visited by Montana TU staff, his first question was, “How can I help?” Gary and Norma held the party to help Montana TU thank local volunteers, introduce new folks to our work and bring
Billings-area anglers together. Bruce Farling provided a brief conservation update, and conversations ranged from favorite fishing spots to restoration priorities in local watersheds. Several past and current leaders of TU’s Magic City Fly
Fishers Chapter attended, and the chapter presented Montana TU with a generous contribution. Guests shared stories that covered decades of our successful conservation work around the state. All agreed that Montana TU has more work ahead to conserve, protect and restore the state’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.
Kelley WillettDevelopment Director
Chris Schustrom and Bruce Farling with Norma and Gary Buchanan
Former National TU Trustees Harry Miller and Doug McClelland
4 Fall 2015
Chapter NewsGeorge Grant Chapter
Roy Morris is the new chapter president. Roy has helped recruit new members, improve communications, increase volunteer participation and organize the chapter’s annual banquet over the years. Kudos to outgoing president Rich Day, who helped initiate the chapter’s grant program with Board member Steve Luebeck. Through the program, the chapter contributes to habitat restoration and fishery improvement projects in Upper Clark Fork River headwater streams and in the Big Hole and Jefferson River watersheds, including projects this year on Cottonwood Creek (near Deerlodge), Willow Spring Creek, Silver Bow Creek and in the Big Hole River area. Contact Roy at [email protected] or 491-4255.
West Slope Chapter
Mark Kuipers is the new chapter president, replacing Jamie Short who moved out of state. We’ll miss Jamie. During his tenure, he strengthened the chapter’s volunteer base and dedicated hundreds of hours of personal time to TU. Mark, in his capacity as vice president, did an excellent job promoting chapter events and lining up quality programs. The chapter helped organize a community weed pull and riparian planting project along Missoula’s Rattlesnake Creek this fall, and contributed to national TU’s installation of a fish screen in a Rattlesnake Creek irrigation ditch. Contact Mark at [email protected].
Lewis and Clark Chapter
After a few years of dormancy, the chapter is up and running again with new leadership. Chapter president Mike Geary and Board members Brian Wheeler, Laura Geary and Jim Wallace are working with a core group of volunteers to recruit members, strengthen participation and protect or restore fishery habitat in their home waters. The chapter held their first membership meeting in four years on November 19 in Dillon. Contact Mike at 406-459-2030.
Kootenai Valley Chapter
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed and secured several loads of woody debris in the Kootenai River this fall, which is the main focus of a chapter-supported habitat enhancement project. Contact Mike Rooney at 406-293-2890 or [email protected].
Flathead Valley Chapter
In August, chapter volunteers worked several shifts gillnetting lake trout from Swan Lake with MFWP and USFWS biologists. The project aims to reduce a problematic population of lake trout in order to increase populations of bull trout and kokanee salmon. Netted lake trout supply the Kalispell Food Bank and raptor rehabilitation centers with hundreds of pounds of fish. Chapter volunteers taught fly tying this fall – while sneaking in a little coldwater conservation talk – to 50 high school juniors and seniors in Kalispell. The chapter supports the fall Mack Days fishing derby on Flathead Lake, as well as other projects of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes aimed at protecting and restoring native trout populations. Contact Larry at [email protected].
Magic City Fly FishersThe chapter is financially supporting a Yellowstone cutthroat trout restoration project on Soda Butte Creek in and upstream of Yellowstone National Park. MFWP, Wyoming Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service are partnering with YNP this fall to remove cutthroats above Ice Box Falls. Fishery biologists will save some of the cutthroats for restocking after non-native brook trout are eliminated using rotenone. For details see the Summer 2015 issue of Trout Line at MontanaTU.org. Chapter volunteers spent an October Saturday in Billings teaching fly fishing basics to elementary-school girls with the local Audubon Society Chapter and Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming. Magic City Fly Fishers meet at 7p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of each month, November through April, at the Billings Rod & Gun Club. Contact Lyle at [email protected].
Big Blackfoot ChapterChapter volunteers helped remove and replace a worn out fence along the North Fork of the Blackfoot River in October. The project helps protect an important stretch of riparian area while assisting a landowner committed to conservation in the watershed. Volunteers and area businesses hosted a Project Healing Waters fishing trip for veterans this fall. The chapter also partnered with several others to complete a stream restoration project on the West Fork of Jacobson Creek and Sauerkraut Creek, and installed fish screens on both Stonewall and Trail Creeks. Contact Ryen Neudecker at [email protected].
Corps of Engineers place woody debris in Kootenai River for fish habitat
Big Blackfoot Chapter volunteers (BBCTU file photo)
Montana Trout Unlimited
BITTERROOT CHAPTER #80Greg Chester, Hamilton (406) 363-0033
[email protected]/blog/
BIG BLACKFOOT CHAPTER #544Scott Gordon, Seeley Lake (406) 546-8420
FLATHEAD VALLEY CHAPTER #85Larry Timchak, Kalispell (406) 250-7473
GEORGE GRANT CHAPTER #183Roy Morris, Butte (406) 491-4255
JOE BROOKS CHAPTER #25Amy Schilling, Livingston (406) 223-2244
KOOTENAI VALLEY CHAPTER #683Mike Rooney, Libby (406) 293-1947
LEWIS & CLARK CHAPTER #656Mike Geary, Twin Bridges (406) 459-2030
MADISON-GALLATIN CHAPTER #24Philip Naro, Bozeman (406) 595-6663
[email protected] www.mgtu.org
MAGIC CITY FLY FISHERS #582Lyle Courtnage, Billings (406) 671-0572
MISSOURI RIVER FLYFISHERS Paul Considine, Great Falls (406) 595-7460
pc PAT BARNES/MISSOURI RIVER
CHAPTER #55Lee Ricks, Helena (406) 465-7295
[email protected] www.patbarnestu.org
SNOWY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER #610Mike Chapman, Lewistown (406) 538-2517
WEST SLOPE CHAPTER #56Mark Kuipers, Missoula (406)327-9990
MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED
CHAPTERS& PRESIDENTS
So long, Ed by Kate Grant
Ed Igarik at MTU’s 2015 camp
Trout Unlimited lost a true friend this November when Edgar Igarik passed away in Missoula at age 67.
For years, Ed volunteered at Montana TU’s Fly Fishing and Conservation Camp to share his passion for the sport with younger generations. Ed would drop everything if TU needed him to spend time on the water with kids. “He was an extremely dedicated fisherman who was also dedicated to helping youth learn to fish,” said Bert Lindler, fellow camp volunteer. Ed worked with the U.S. Forest Service in Ennis before moving to Missoula to be closer to his daughters and young grandchildren. His love for rivers, lakes and mountains rubbed off on those around him, and he was committed to getting kids ‘into trout.’ “We loved him and will miss him terribly,” said Penny Ritchie, former director at the camp. “I envision him at Brown’s or Georgetown Lake forever, catching and releasing amazing numbers of fish.”
PLEASE SUPPORT MONTANA TU Montana TU is financially independent of TU’s national organization, and we rely on individuals like you to support our conservation work throughout the state. Here are three ways you can help:
Send this completed form to Montana TU with your contribution, or Donate on our secure site at www.montanatu.org, or Call Kelley Willett at 406-543-0054.
YES! I’d like to contribute to Montana Trout Unlimited. NAME_______________________________________________ADDRESS_____________________________________________CITY, STATE, ZIP_________________________________________PHONE______________________________________________EMAIL ______________________________________________Donation Enclosed is my tax deductible gift of $___________to Montana TU, or Please charge $ ___________ to my card. This donation is (check one) one-time monthly quarterly annual
Credit or bank card: (circle one) MC VISA AMEX DISC Card#_________________________________Exp. Date ________ Please mail this to Montana TU, PO Box 7186, Missoula, MT 59807Thanks to all who generously contribute to help conserve, protect and restore Montana’s coldwater resources. Every dollar counts!
6 Fall 2015
Dr. Marshall BloomHamilton, MT
Monte DolackMissoula, MT
Dr. Stanley FalkowHamilton, MT and Portola Valley, CA
Jerry LappierCraig, MT
Bud LillyThree Forks, MT
Tom MorganManhattan, MT
Drs. Robert and Peggy Ratcheson
Hamilton, MT
Paul MoseleyMissoula, MT
Roy O’ConnorClinton, MT
Paul RoosLincoln, MT
Craig & Jackie MathewsWest Yellowstone, MT
Paul StanleyBozeman, MT and
Piedmont, CA
K.C. WalshBozeman, MT
Dr. Irving WeissmanHamilton, MT and Redwood City, CA
MONTANA TU STEWARDSHIP DIRECTORS
BLACKFOOT, from page 1of Environmental Quality proposes removing the worst materials from the wetlands, which Montana TU supports. Fortunately, it appears they are limited to the most upstream wetland reaches that aren’t readily apparent from Highway 200. Montana TU staff will continue making occasional on-site visits and monitoring the progress with the agencies. We don’t anticipate everything will go perfectly. The agencies have their differences and internal challenges, and it’s a complicated project, hampered by scale, tough terrain and weather. But for now DEQ, the Forest Service and the Montana Natural Resource Damage Claim Program deserve your support for pulling off a highly credible cleanup Mike Horse Creek, upper Blackfoot drainage
Wetlands in the upper Blackfoot
Don’t let mining harm Sheep Creek and the Smith River. Please tell Montana’s mining regulators at the Department of Environmental Quality and Governor Steve Bullock that Sheep Creek and the Smith River are too important to risk.
Tom Livers, DirectorMontana DEQ
PO Box 200901Helena, MT 59620
[email protected](406) 444-2544
that will provide for a healthier fishery in the upper reaches of an iconic river.
For more information contact Bruce Farling at [email protected], or check out the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex virtual tour at www.deq.mt.gov.
Don’t let mining harm Sheep Creek and the Smith River.Don’t let mining harm Sheep Creek and the Smith River. Please tell Montana’s mining regulators at the Department of Please tell Montana’s mining regulators at the Department of Environmental Quality and Governor Steve Bullock that Sheep Environmental Quality and Governor Steve Bullock that Sheep Creek and the Smith River are too important to risk. Creek and the Smith River are too important to risk.
Tom Livers, DirectorTom Livers, DirectorMontana DEQMontana DEQ
PO Box 200901PO Box 200901Helena, MT 59620Helena, MT 59620
[email protected]@mt.gov(406) 444-2544(406) 444-2544
SmithRiverWatch.org
Governor Steve BullockState Capitol
PO Box 200801 Helena, MT 59620 [email protected]
(406) 444-3111To learn more, visit
COONEY, from page 3
local TU chapters and conservation organizations.
Colin is also visiting with Smith River landowners. Eighty percent of the land along the Smith River’s 60-mile stretch managed by the state is privately owned. Many landowners are concerned about effects a mine could have on the Smith River, its fi shery, area groundwater and their properties.
Montana TU is working with Colin on press, social networking and through our website at SmithRiverWatch.org, a primary source for information about the proposed mine and the Smith River. If you want Colin to visit with your chapter, organization or business, contact him at [email protected]. He’s looking forward to visiting with you.
7Montana Trout Unlimited
VANDALS, from page 1Montana. FWP has documented 600 incidents in recent years of illegal fish planting affecting 300 waters across the state. The activity involved 50 species, some of them resulting from the innocent dumping of bait buckets, but many incidents are clearly intentional involving northern pike, walleye, crappie, bass and carp, and even pacu and piranha – but rarely trout. According to former Region 1 Fishery Manager Jim Vashro, only two of the 300 affected fisheries were actually “improved.” In almost all cases, the illegal addition degraded or destroyed a perfectly fine fishing spot. In 1992 a would-be Johnny Appleseed dumped yellow perch into Lake Mary Ronan. Though the guy was caught and FWP responded quickly by applying rotenone in the bay where the perch were dumped, enough survived so that within 10 years they comprised 80 percent of the biomass in the lake. It ruined one of Montana’s best kokanee fisheries and exterminated a wild rainbow run. Only recently, after massive investments in hatchery efforts, have kokanee appeared in decent numbers. But it’s an expensive, ongoing endeavor. In the 1990s, when FWP found illegally planted walleyes in Canyon Ferry
Reservoir -- not very far upstream of the famous tailwater stretch of the Missouri River -- walleye enthusiasts, including Walleyes Unlimited, pressured FWP to legitimize the presence of this illegally planted species with regulations. FWP conceded, deferring to the walleye folks’ claim that the existing super-popular
rainbow trout and perch fisheries could still flourish. Wrong. The walleye quickly ate through the forage base, seriously denting the trout, perch and white sucker populations. Montana TU predicted
the result: The quality of the walleye fishery goes up and down, and the only way to keep a marginally decent rainbow trout fishery is to invest hundreds of thousands of angler dollars into planting larger fish (taking up hatchery space needed by legitimate fisheries in other lakes and reservoirs). Moreover harvest limits for perch were significantly reduced, and that fishery has never recovered. Angling pressure is only now approaching pre-walleye days, but it won’t last. In recent years walleye were discovered in Noxon Reservoir, long the site of one of region’s most popular bass fisheries. Now, the walleye population is growing and threatens the existing sport fishery, and walleye
enthusiasts are doing what they do best: Pressure the state to not suppress the illegally established population. Just like at Canyon Ferry they are urging the vandalism be legitimized. Noxon Reservoir is also benefitting from multi-million dollar investments made by NorthWestern Energy and Avista to improve fish passage at their dams, as well as habitat in connected tributaries, to benefit migratory bull trout and cutthroat trout in the Lower Clark Fork system. A growing walleye population jeopardizes that. After three years, FWP has not acted at Noxon. It’s still studying the problem. Simple hand-wringing will not address this epidemic problem. It’s essential that FWP not legitimize these fisheries, and instead focus harder on making a bust or two, with the consequences – fines, restitution and, hopefully, jail time – widely advertised. But that requires FWP amping up its enforcement efforts considerably. It’s not enough to simply provide educational materials on websites and in printed information. Or to send out press releases about the problem. It requires moving the issue up in FWP’s priorities and investing in investigative techniques routinely used in wildlife poaching cases. Rewards should help. To that end, Montana TU will provide $10,000 for information leading to a conviction in serious cases of illegal fish dumping, such as the walleye incidents at Swan Lake and Noxon Reservoir, or the smallmouth bass vandalism plaguing Seeley Lake. This is in
addition to the $1,000 FWP offers through TIPMONT, and the collective $4,500 committed by other groups, such as the Montana Bass Federation and the Montana Wildlife Federation.
The problem is serious. The solutions aren’t easy. But the consequences of business as usual are hugely harmful.
Montana TU will provide $10,000 for information leading
to a conviction in serious cases of
illegal fish dumping
Early morning on Swan Lake Image courtesy Scott Hawxhurst
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Walleye dumped in Swan LakePage 1
---------------Upper Blackfoot River:
Comprehensive mining cleanup underwayPage 1
-------------- Speak up for CWA rule, chapter news and more
Pages 2-5
THIS ISSUE:
www.montanatu.org
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@MontanaTU
Fall2015
Magic City Fly Fishers Chapter Meeting7 p.m. at the Billings Rod & Gun Club, 2931 Gun Club Road in Billings. Steve Galetta, Bighorn Angler owner, outfitter and author of Fly Fishing the Bighorn River, presents, “Seasons and Tactics for the Bighorn.” Contact Lyle at [email protected].
MTU State Council Meeting 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 205 Haggerty Lane in Bozeman. Features training for TU leaders on chapter event fundraising. Contact Kate for agenda and RSVP at 406-543-0054 or [email protected].
WestSlope Chapter Meeting6:30 p.m. fly tying and socializing at the DoubleTree Hotel, 100 Madison St. in Missoula. Membership meeting starts at 7 p.m. Don Thomas presents, “Fly Fishing Alaska Steelhead.” Free and open to the public. Contact Mark at [email protected].
Madison-Gallatin Chapter Meeting and Holiday Party7-9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 5 E. Baxter Lane in Bozeman. Doors open 6:30. Program by Jeff Currier. Free and open to the public. Contact Philip at 595-6663 or [email protected].
Flathead Valley Chapter Christmas Social and Fly Swap7 p.m. at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks conference room, 490 N. Meridian in Kalispell. Join TU friends for fly tying, snacks, raffles and door prizes. Sign up for the Fly Swap at FlatheadTU.org.
WestSlope Chapter Meeting6:30 p.m. fly tying and socializing at the DoubleTree Hotel, 100 Madison St. in Missoula. Membership meeting starts at 7 p.m. MFWP Director Jeff Hagener presents, “The State of Trout.” Free and open to the public. Contact Mark at [email protected].
Bitterroot Chapter Meeting7 p.m. at the Elks Club, 203 State Street in Hamilton. Zack Porter with the Montana Wilderness Association presents, “The Role of Wilderness in Native Trout Fisheries.” Contact Greg at [email protected].
Magic City Fly Fishers Chapter Meeting7 p.m. at the Billings Rod & Gun Club, 2931 Gun Club Road in Billings. Presentation by special guest and local educator Kevin Croff. Contact Lyle at [email protected].
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