Painted Rocks Dam Scheduled Inspection Oct. 20 – 21, 2014

In order to accommodate a scheduled inspection of the Painted Rocks Dam, outflows will be reduced by 50 percent on Oct. 20, 2014, and will be interrupted for approximately four hours on the morning of Oct. 21. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation thanks you for your patience. For more information, please contact Montana DNRC at (406) 542-5885.

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! 

Join us Saturday,September 8th for the Bitterroot River Annual Clean-Up and do YOUR part to preserve nature’s most valuable resource! (click to see our Facebook event)

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!

Support theBitterroot’s Legacy of Clean Water with a donation to BRWF today!

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!

Help keep Riverfest free and open to all with a donation to BRWF today!

Heather Mullee

Executive Director

Bitter Root Water Forum

Clean Water: All Users, All Generations

Findus on Facebook!

P.O. Box 1247

Hamilton, MT  59840

406-375-2272 

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.

Bitterroot Chapter of Trout Unlimited Summer Intern Announcement

2012 BRTU/USFS/MFWP Fisheries Intern Announcement
 
Once again, the Bitterroot Chapter of Trout Unlimited in conjunction with Bitterroot National Forest the Montana Dept of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks will be filling a GS-3 ($11.95/hour) summer fisheries technician job.  This is one of the ways that our chapter uses the money we raise at our banquet to support Native Trout protection and restoration.

The application process is simple - send a resume and cover letter to US Forest Service Fisheries Biologist Mike Jakober (mjakober@fs.fed.us). Please note that the deadline for applications is March 26th.  Feel free to distribute the announcement to any potential candidates.

Dates For Applying  –  Resumes need to be received no later than March 26, 2012.  The application process is simply a resume that is sent to Mike Jakober.  Resumes can be sent electronically or hard copy.  Transcripts and proof of college registration will be required prior to hiring the selected individual.
Electronic address:  mjakober@fs.fed.us
Mail:  West Fork Ranger District, 6735 West Fork Rd., Darby MT  59829.  Attn: Mike Jakober.
Phone:  406-821-3269

Dates of Employment  – June 4 to August 24, 2012 (some flexibility exists).

Pay Rate –  Pay grade would be a GS-3, which is $11.95/hour.

Qualifications  –  The Forest Service would hire the intern under the Student Temporary Employment Program.  The intern would need to show that they intend to go into fisheries or a closely related field and would be attending college as an undergraduate or graduate student in the fall of 2012.

Duties  –  The intern would work from the Stevensville and West Fork Ranger Districts, with the Forest’s fisheries crews.  In August, the intern would assist Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) biologists conducting mark/recapture electrofishing surveys.  The goal is to expose the intern to a wide range of field-going fisheries duties, including:

• Conducting fish population surveys with electrofishers and by snorkeling
• Conducting fish habitat inventories
• Conducting mountain lake surveys
• Implementing fish habitat improvement projects
• Monitoring and maintaining livestock exclosure fences and grazing allotments
• Monitoring road decommissioning and timber harvest projects
• Deploying thermographs to monitor water temperatures
• Conducting flow measurements in dewatered streams

The intern would spend most of their time in the field working alongside regular summer field crews.  There would be minimal office work.  The intern may also participate on a few backcountry mountain lake or snorkel surveys.  The intern would rotate between the West Fork and Stevensville Ranger Districts of the Bitterroot National Forest.  In August, the intern would also assist FWP biologists when mark/recapture population estimates are being conducted.  The intern would keep a concise daily log to be compiled into a brief reporting of accomplishments and suggestions for improving the intern program.  This would be provided to TU in written format at the end of the season.  If the intern is attending a Montana college, they would be expected to conduct an informal presentation at a Bitterroot Chapter Trout Unlimited meeting during the autumn or winter of 2012-13.  The Chapter would like to see and hear firsthand about the intern’s experiences.

Housing – Forest Service bunkhouse space will likely be available at either the West Fork or Stevensville Ranger Stations.  If the employee stays in a bunkhouse, rent, which is about $5.00 per day, is automatically deducted from the employee’s paycheck.

Download this information in a PDF file or Word.doc

BRTU Grant Application Process for projects benefiting wild fish and habitat

Any entity with a good on-the-ground project that benefits wild fish and their habitat can apply for funding through the Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (BRTU) Fisheries Improvement Program. You are strongly urged to contact your local fisheries biologist prior to submitting an application. The local biologist typically knows the limiting factors associated with fish populations in their management area.

Applications must be completed in full, and must include detailed budget information as provided on the Budget Template.

Here are links to more information:

• BRTU Grant Application (a form you can fill out on your computer or print) - Microsoft Word format 97-2003 or PDF format
• BRTU Grant Application Process (discussion and information) Microsoft Word format 97-2003 or PDF format
• BRTU Budget spreadsheet for your information and use - Microsoft Excel 2007 or PDF format

Note: PDF is a universal read-only format. Get a free and easy to use Adobe PDF application here.
In order to fill out the word format on your computer, you will need to download it and save it to your hard drive.


If you need any of these documents in hard copy or a different format see the contacts below. 


Contact
President: Bill Bean
fishaus@montana.com
406-363-6158

Greg Chester
Gchester55@aol.com
(406) 363-0033

Join us on Saturday, Mar 21. We are posting Bitterroot River trout fishing regulation signs

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited wants to make it easy for the public to know and follow the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Regulations for trout fishing (excerpted from FWP regs) as they can be different on various reaches. Violations are happening and trout are being harmed. We can help stop that.

We are calling for volunteers. On Saturday, March 21, we will team up and post regulation signs at as many river access points as needed - hopefully completing the project we started last year. We invite anyone who is interested to join us.

If you want to know what Bitterroot Trout Unlimited is doing to protect the Bitterroot River, get to know our members, and enjoy a morning near the river, come to one of two places at 9:00 am:

• Safeway in Hamilton parking lot (southeast of Hwy 93 and Main Street streetlight/intersection)


• the Stevensville Fishing Access Site (northeast side of the bridge)

BRTU members will be there to meet you, organizing the day's signing efforts.

The following materials will be provided though we would welcome donations of the same:

• Staple guns (bring your own if you have one)
• Metal fence posts and pounder (can always use another pounder)
• Plywood (provided by BRTU and cut to fit the laminated signs)
• baling wire to tie on the signs on the metal fence posts (provided by BRTU)

To volunteer, donate materials, or for more information, please contact:

• Geoff Fitzgerald at fitzes91@yahoo.com or 406-375-9064


• Jack Mauer at wapiti@wapiti-waters.com or 406-642-6548


• or stop by the Fishaus Fly Fishing to talk with Bill Bean, 702 North First Street, Hamilton, MT

Below is a slideshow of Victor crossing, only a few signs remain in good shape. This area needs to be reposted.

View Album Click view album for bigger view in new window. Choose "slideshow" for full screen mode.

Examples of the signs: