Monday, November 12, 2012

Why Rivers Flood, program speaker Karin Boyd


This program is open to the public.
Do you know the difference between a thalweg and a sculpin? One relates to fluvial morphology and the other is a fish. Karin Boyd is an acknowledged leader in fluvial morphology. Her main professional interests are determining how physical conditions and human influences collectively affect the form and behavior of the river systems, and applying this information to develop strategies for remediation, restoration, and long-term resource management. She has worked in kangaroo infested streams in Australia, snake invested streams in Mississippi and bulldozer infested streams in Montana. With this opportunity to learn about these concepts, Bitterroot residents will gain a better understanding of the impacts of construction projects near waterways.
Information for Spice of Life Cafe and Catering
163 S 2nd St Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions | Menu | Hours
Information for Elks Lodge
203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031
Get directions
For more information, contact Cassie Buhl (cassie.buhl@gmail.com) or Marshall Bloom (drtrout@mtbloom.net) or 406-363-3485.
Learn more about Bitterroot Trout Unlimited at www.brtu.org.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

33rd Annual Banquet more important than ever

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited Conserve, protect, and restore Montana's world-class coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. The banquet is the only fundraiser BRTU does to help them run programs fulfill their mission and run programs for young people in the valley who are interested in trout, fishing and conservation. Read about one remarkable young lady and see how you can help BRTU continue their great work.

Minica Bromley is the daughter of Jack and Bromley Casbara. Minica has attended the Trout Unlimited Summer Camp at Georgetown Lake for the last 3 years. She got her start in our Bitterroot Buggers Youth Program.

Minica entered the following essay in a National TU contest, and won an Honorable Mention! Bromley has graciously given me permission to share Minica’s wonderful essay. This is the kind of difference that BRTU is making with our valley’s kids.

You can help us keep supporting our youth with programs like the Buggers. It’s easy. Just come to the Friday, September 28 BRTU banquet.  Your support makes it possible, and we can’t do it without you!

September 28 Banquet

Premiums and donations for the 33rd annual BRTU banquet are really starting to roll in! Paintings, watercolors, photographs, pottery, gourmet dinners, fishing trips, tackle, clothing, backpacking gear, oriental rugs and much much more. This will be a banquet to remember.

The banquet will start at 5:00 pm on Friday, September 28 at the Bitterroot River Inn. Tickets ($50 a person) can be purchased or reserved now at Fishaus Tackle (363-6158, fishaus@blackfoot.net); Western Flies & Guides (363-9099, westernfliesandguides@gmail.com); and Osprey Outfitters. You don’t have to be a TU member to attend.
Banquet premiums include float trips, tackle, clothing , backpacking gear, art, pottery, photographs, gourmet dinners, fine wines and much, much more. There will be live and silent auction, door prizes, drawings and awards.  I have attached the list of Live Auction items so you can get an idea of some of the unique and extraordinary premiums. 

For more information, to make a donation, or to help out, contact Marshall Bloom (363-3485, drtrout@mtbloom.net), Cassie Buhl (381-4589, cassie.buhl@gmail.com) ,or Greg Chester (363-0033, gchester55@aol.com)
. You do not need to be a TU member to attend.
Reprinted by permission, all rights reserved
******************************
ESSAY BY Minica Casbara

Trout Unlimited summer camp is the best activity for a kid to
experience over summer vacation. I know because it has been the
highlight of my past three summers. My first summer was
sponsored by the Bitterroot Buggers Fly Tying program. I was
very excited to be selected to attend, especially because my
brother, home from college at the time, was asked to be a
counselor. This meant I could spend some fun time with my older
brother traveling to camp and fishing. The camp was held at Camp
Watanopa, on Georgetown Lake in Western Montana. Georgetown
Lake is a beautiful, shallow, man-made lake in the Pintlar
mountain range built in the 1800’s as a reservoir to supply water
for the Anaconda Mining Company.

The camp was almost a week long, and every day we learned
something new. The guides would take the campers out as early in
the morning or as late at night as one wanted to. Interesting
speakers were invited to the camp to discuss how they worked to
protect fish and to keep our waters from being contaminated. One
of the most memorable experiences was that everyone had the
opportunity to fish a private creek full of small cutthroat, rainbow,
and brook trout. One night, there was a HUGE hailstorm. Golf
balls were pounding people out by the campfire and we all played
in the hail until it finally forced everyone inside. I had never seen
anything like it. I learned so much my first year. I didn’t catch
many fish but I still had a blast.

One of the counselors, who happened to be my brother’s age,
traveled from Maine where his family are lobster fisherman. I
thought it was neat that someone came from the other side of the
country to help the campers and give advice. He stayed at our
house after the camp, so we showed him some of our favorite
fishing spots and he taught us some of his techniques.
The second year of camp I was excited to be able to go back,
this time without my brother, just on my own. I was determined to
catch more fish. My fishing had improved with the advice of the
previous guides. And under the patience of the new ones, I caught
seven trout! The flies I learned to tie that summer even won a blue
ribbon at our county fair. The year before, the instructors and
campers all visited a fish hatchery, which was one of the coolest
parts of the camp. This year we had the once in a lifetime
opportunity to learn how to sex the fish. We helped sort them by
gender then carefully tossed them into the proper holding pond so
they could be shipped out to help restock streams.

The third year, I told my parents TU camp was the only
summer camp I wanted to attend. A few of the students that year
were invited to fish the west fork of the private creek we fished the
first two years. That was the jackpot location. I caught at least ten
trout within the time we were there fishing. This past year we had
almost as many volunteer guides and chaperones as campers.
There must have been almost 40 people there. That shows how
dedicated the directors of the camp are, and how knowledgeable
and kind the guides are with the campers. I don’t think they just
come for the fantastic food (which ranged from chicken alfredo to
cream puffs with homemade huckleberry ice cream on the side.)

TU camp is not only about fly-fishing. It is about making
connections with kids from different states, sitting around the
campfire at night talking while burning through bags of
marshmallows, learning new skills and how to be guardians of the
environment, and appreciating the beauty of the outdoors and how
devoted so many people are to protecting nature. This coming
summer I would like to volunteer at our camp and help teach what
I have learned over the years so the tradition of this great
experience can continue for future campers.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Trout Unlimited Burnt Fork Revegetation project – volunteers are needed in the Bitterroot

Your help on this project will have an immediate positive impact on the health of the Burnt Fork! Over the past year, Trout Unlimited installed a mile of riparian fencing on the Ellison Cattle Company property, just East of Stevensville. In June, more volunteers helped plant areas near the stream with riparian vegetation to provide shade and stabilize the streambank.

Now, with the hot weather, it is critical to make sure the new plants have enough water to survive and take hold. If you have time and the inclination to help, the plants need water. Volunteers will be asked to tote 5 gallon buckets (or whatever you can carry) to the thirsty plants. The section closest to the Eastside Highway has the driest plants. In late July, there was still about an 80% survival rate which is pretty good. Please help Montana and Bitter Root Trout Unlimited save these plants that we worked so hard to install. Thank you to Ellison Cattle Company for partnering with us on this important project.

To help and get more information, please email Bitter Root Trout Unlimited President, Cassie Buhl at cassie.buhl@gmail.com.

Location of project:
Ellison Cattle Company Inc
Jean Ellison
4171 Eastside Highway
Stevensville, MT 59870-6693 click here for map
 














Additional information contact:
Heather Whiteley
Project Manager
Trout Unlimited
111 N. Higgins
Suite 500
Missoula, MT 59802
(406) 531-8657
heather.whiteley@tu.org

Sept 8, 2012 share in the Bitterroot's legacy of clean water


West Fork of the Bitterroot River
The Bitterroot’s Legacy of Clean Water…

There are many places in the world with severely polluted water.  Places where you couldn’t imagine swimming in the water, let alone drinking it.  Here in the Bitterroot Valley, we have access to clean water and BRWF plans to keep it that way—and we need your help! 


Nearly 100 volunteers are needed to clean up more than 100 floatable miles of the Bitterroot!  Grab a trash bag from a local fly shop and walk or float a stretch of river with family and friends while you do your part to help keep our water clean. 

With years of collecting everything from fishing poles and parts of canoes to car doors and bed mattresses, the Bitterroot River Clean-Up from Sula to Missoula has been an integral part of keeping our river beautiful.

At 4:00pm, turn in your bag of trash and join us for the volunteer celebration BBQ at Angler’s Roost.  Enjoy live music from Kirby Erickson and his three piece band and help yourself to burgers and brats - free to all clean up participants!  BBQ and music open to non-participants for a $5 suggested donation. 

What better way to enjoy one of the last days of summer then on the river with family and friends, making a difference in our community? 

To sign-up and get more details, call us at 375-2272 or e-mail us at brwaterforum@bitterroot.net.  Please RSVP if you want to help out – we need to know where to station all volunteers!



Thanks for Rooting for Riverfest in the Root!

2012 marked the second successful Riverfest in the Root!  Thanks to everyone who turned out and had a great day celebrating our river.  We would like to take a moment to once again thank our generous sponsors who helped make Riverfest in the Root a great success!  Special thanks goes to:

GlaxoSmithKline  ~  Bitterroot Conservation District  ~  The Rapp Family Foundation

Allegra  ~  Big Sky Tents  ~  Blacksmith Brewing Company  ~  Evans Ace Hardware  ~  Fly Fishs Eddy O  ~  Geum Environmental Consulting  ~ 
Greener Montana Property Management, LLC.  ~  Kinetico   ~  Osprey Outfitters  ~  Pigman Builders  ~  The Trail 103.3  ~  Western Flies and Guides

And a big thanks to all of our dedicated and hard working volunteers who made Riverfest in the Root such a success!  Special thanks to:

Keystone to Discovery Afterschool Program  ~  Bitterroot Ecological Awareness Resources (B.E.A.R)  ~ Montana Conservation Corps

Between the Watershed Trailer, an exotic animal presentation, and music from Joan Zen and her Funky 5 Piece Band, the day was filled with fun and smiles for everyone! We are lucky to have such a beautiful park in our community and people who strive to protect our water resources.

Thank you for supporting BRWF and we look forward to providing our third annual (and free!) Riverfest in the Root next year!




Heather Mullee

Executive Director
Bitter Root Water Forum
Clean Water: All Users, All Generations

P.O. Box 1247
Hamilton, MT  59840
406-375-2272 

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

BRTU News - Memorial Day 2012 Edition, lots of news

By Marshall Bloom, BRTU

As we all hunker down the cool rainy weather, here are a few bits that may be of interest:

FISHING LICENSES
Don’t forget your 2012 license. The MFWP On-Line Licensing system makes doing this from home a snap, especially when you realize the night before that trip to the Smith you forgot to get one. Here is the website: https://app.mt.gov/Als/Index


MONTANA BECOMING AN OUTDOOR WOMAN (BOW) BIRDING WORKSHOP
Liz Lodman, Montana BOW Coordinator (llodman@mt.gov), gave a great presentation at a recent BRTU meeting last fall and has sent along the following information about an upcoming workshop.

On June 22-24, the Montana BOW program is sponsoring a birding workshop. The workshop is primarily for the beginning birder and will help participants improve bird identification skills while viewing a variety of birds found in the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge area. 

The workshop runs Friday evening through Sunday noon and is based out of Ninepipes Lodge in Charlo.  If you plan to attend this workshop please contact Ninepipes Lodge to make your reservation. 406-644-2588, http://ninepipeslodge.com/index.html

Click http://fwp.mt.gov/education/bow/workshops.html for more info
Lodging arrangements are the responsibility of the participants.    Sign up with a friend and share a room at the hotel.  The workshop registration fee includes all meals and supplies for the class.

The registration form is shown in the images and information is also on the BOW web page at:  http://fwp.mt.gov/education/bow/workshops.html

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PUBLIC LANDS.
It’s a fine old Bitterroot tradition to slam public lands and recreation as a drain on the local economy and an impediment to community vitality. Of course, most of us realize that this is a bromide of antediluvian proportions, but a recent conference held in Whitefish provided some compelling data about the economic value of public lands in Montana.

Chris Mehl, who is policy director of Headwaters Economics stated it clearly when he said, “So not only are counties with a higher percentage of federally protected lands enjoying more job growth, but people are finding that they can perform the same high-level work here as they can in bigger markets.”


PROTECTING BULL TROUT IN SWAN LAKE.
Montana FWP has prepared an environmental analysis (EA) that recommends continuing a program to reduce non-native, predacious lake trout at Swan Lake. The illegally introduced lake trout threaten one of the nation's most important bull trout populations as well as an important sport fishery for kokanee salmon in Swan Lake.

Montana TU has issued an Action Alert asking folks to support this EA. A copy of the Action Alert is attached. If you have questions, contact the Montana TU Office at 543-0054.

JUNE 2 TU BURNT FORK REVEGETATION PROJECT.
Volunteers are needed to ! Please join us!

Your help on this project will have an immediate positive impact on the health of the Burnt Fork! Over the past year, Trout Unlimited installed a mile of riparian fencing on the Ellison Cattle Company property, just East of Stevensville. Portions of the stream need to be planted with riparian vegetation to provide shade and stabilize the streambank. Please consider lending a hand for all or part of the day! You’ll get a sack lunch!

The work crew will meet on Saturday June 2nd 10 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Stevensville Ranger District Office at 10 a.m.  (88 Main St. Stevensville MT). Folks from Missoula are meeting at west side parking lot of the south Walmart at 9 a.m. to car pool.  

 For more information or to RSVP, please contact Nick Littman ph. 541-1195 or nlittman@tu.org

SEPTEMBER 28 BRTU BANQUET
We are starting to work on the banquet. We really need some volunteers. This will be our 33rd annual banquet! Please let me know if you are willing to assist. drtrout@mtbloom.net



Friday, April 20, 2012

The Bitterroot Buggers Fishing Day and Picnic is Sunday 4/29 at the Stock Farm - Help needed

Buggers casting class
Call For Volunteers!
The Bitterroot Buggers Fishing Day and Picnic is Sunday 4/29 at the Stock Farm.

Thanks to all the Bitterroot Trout Unlimited, Fly Fishers of the Bitterroot  and community members who have volunteered so far with the 2012 Buggers classes. The kids REALLY appreciate it!

Plan on attending the final class outdoors and picnic. Meet at 3:30 PM at the Westview Center  located at 9th and Main in Hamilton and board buses to the Stock Farm.
The buses leave promptly at 3:45 PM. Private vehicles not allowed! All helpers must take the bus!!
Don't forget to pick up one more raffle ticket if you join us - we'll draw the lucky winner at the picnic. The prize will be a terrific Monte Dolak print, ready for framing!

Please bring tippet material, knot tool and a landing net. We'll fish until about 5:00 then return to the Westview Center for the picnic, awards and wrap-up.
Questions?
Call Jeff at Western Flies and Guides (363-9099), Ria of the Keystone Program (363-5996) or
Greg Chester of BRTU (363-0033)
 Thanks in advance for your valued assistance -
BRTU and Keystone Enrichment Program

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Celebrate Earth day with Bitter Root Water Forum on April 22

PROJECT: Grab your gloves and join Bitter Root Water Forum on Earth Day, THIS Sunday, April 22nd from 12pm-4pm, for the second re-vegetation project on the East Fork!

We will be planting nearly 100 native plants and installing browse protectors (the plastic, mesh pieces that guard plants from hungry wildlife).  The project site is just north of the Sula store and East Fork Road on the west side of Highway 93 – approximately mile marker 14.  Adjacent gravel bar and guardrail will be flagged on project day.
**Carpools are strongly encouraged.  Please meet us at the Safeway in Hamilton (101 E. Main Street) at 11:00am on Sunday to coordinate ride sharing.

Bring gloves and wear water proof/sturdy boots.  Dress in layers and bring a raincoat—we’ll work in a bit of rain but hopefully we will have shine!  Please bring shovels, picks, and post hole diggers if you have them; some tools will be provided.
We will start working at noon and have a volunteer appreciation BBQ when we’re done! 
 ***Please RSVP to brwaterforum@bitterroot.net or call us at 375-2272 to let us know you plan to help!

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited is co-funding this project and members will be participating.

See photos from last year's re-vegetation work on Bitter Root Water Forum's Facebook Page. You must be a member of Facebook to view them.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

April 2012 BRTU General meeting - Yellowstone National Park by Mike Ruhl

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited April Meeting
Thursday, April 19, 2012, 7:00 PM
Hamilton Elks Lodge, 203 State St
Mike Ruhl
Yellowstone National Park
The best job in the world? Mike Ruhl, a Fisheries Biologist in Yellowstone National Park, may have it. Over the course of the year he works in the best Native Trout fisheries in the world including rarely visited headwaters of Yellowstone Lake. The Park recently completed its Native Fish Conservation Plan, and TU was a major player. Anglers will not only benefit from this new plan, but angler volunteers can play a major role in the conservation effort. If you want to learn how you can help protect this unique resource for the future by fishing in some seldom visited spots, don't miss Mike's program! This will be the last BRTU program until October.

And, don’t forget! We will be having dinner with Kris at Spice of Life at 5:00 pm before the meeting. Long-time TU supporter Karen Suennen will be donating 10% of the proceeds to our club. So come join us for dinner.
Information for Spice of Life Cafe and Catering
163 S 2nd St Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions
| Menu | Hours

Information for Elks Lodge

203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031
Get directions

For more information, contact Cassie Buhl (cassie.buhl@gmail.com) or Marshall Bloom (drtrout@mtbloom.net) or 406-363-3485.