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Photo Credit: Forest Service Northern Region

It’s happening already. Hoot owl closures have been put on the Big Hole, Madison, Gallatin, Beaverhead, and the Ruby and this year they’re earlier than ever before. The summer of 2015 was unprecedented when rivers around Missoula began closing in the beginning of July. While closures this summer were anticipated, nobody predicted them occurring so early in the season.

These closures show us yet again the real impact that climate change will have on our rivers and our fisheries. Reduced snowpack, diminished flows in streams and rivers, hotter summers, and more extreme weather events brought on by climate change threaten to radically change Montana’s outdoor traditions and world class fly fishing.

Even as a hotter climate threatens our outdoor heritage, it will also impact our outdoor economy. The Montana Wildlife Federation released a report last year: Climate Impact Report, that conservatively estimates the impact of climate change on Montana’s outdoor economy. According to this analysis, if we continue to do nothing to curb the pollution that causes climate change, Montana will see an average temperature rise of 4-5 degrees F by 2055. For the angling industry this means that there will be a one-third decline in angling days, with an economic loss of $49 million and 1,800 jobs. These grim predictions are already a reality for many fishing guides across the state.

Scott Nicolarsen, owner of Montana Topwater in Missoula, said, “Because of hoot owl restrictions and the poor quality of fishing I had to cancel many trips last summer. My overall number of trips dropped from the 100 day average to only guiding 70 days in 2015. I actually had to call clients and recommend they not come. This means I don’t get paid, flights and hotel reservations get canceled, and meals are not ordered. The 30% decline in revenue is devastating.”

Dan Vermillion, owner of Sweetwater Travel in Livingston, said “The Yellowstone is one of North America’s most treasured fisheries with world-class trout fishing from Yellowstone Park to Park City. With climate change, and its hot, dry summers, we are seeing smallmouth bass all the way up to Livingston, and brown trout and rainbow trout invading the habitat that has long been the last refuge the Yellowstone cutthroat. If we do not address these changes soon, our tourism industry will suffer and, most importantly, future generations of Montanans will not know the beauty of a trout rising for a dry fly. ”

When the first hoot owl closures were implemented, no one thought they would become a regular occurrence. They certainly were not meant to begin in June. Unfortunately, as the effects of climate change become more apparent, Montanans can expect their summer fishing window to get smaller and smaller – and Montana’s outdoor economy can expect to see jobs dry up as fast as the rivers.

To check current restrictions and closures, go to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Some elite warriors were in town, and the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) took them fishing.

Veterans of a Marine Corps Force Recon unit held a joint reunion with veterans of a Marine battalion recon unit last week in Missoula. Among them was Butch Waddill of the Bitterroot Valley who, last year, was awarded a long-overdue Silver Star from Sen. Jon Tester for heroic actions in Vietnam. Waddill helped organize the reunion, which includes Marine Recon veterans from all over the nation.

“We wanted to show our appreciation and do something special for these courageous men,” says Dave Stalling, Western Montana Field Representative for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “What better way to do that in June in Montana than to take them fishing?” The group also spent a day rafting on the Blackfoot River.

With help from MWF’s Missoula affiliate Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, and guides and gear from the Kingfisher Fly Shop, the veterans fished a section of the Clark Fork River below Missoula on Sunday, June 19th. Guides Matt “Doc” Davies and Andy Roy did an excellent job helping the veterans get into and land some nice rainbow trout.

On Monday, June 20th, the veterans rafted down the Blackfoot River, thanks to help from rafter Tim Ibey of Ibey Sprinkler, Landscape, and Nursery in Missoula, and Bill Stroud, creater and owner of River Rat Maps and Bear Creek Map Works in Victor,

“We have tremendous respect and admiration for the ‘above-and-beyond’ service and sacrifices of these veterans,” Stalling says. “It was an honor and privilege introducing them to some of Montana’s great rivers.”

When I was growing up, my father often took me fishing. From the start, he taught me conservation basics: To keep only what I would eat, to fish fairly and honestly with respect for the quarry. Later, he also spoke of the importance of clean water and healthy watersheds. He volunteered for various organizations to help protect and restore the fish he so passionately pursued.

He took me camping, backpacking, trout fishing, taught me to identify trees and other plants, got me involved in Boy Scouts and shared with me all of his enthusiasm, knowledge, love and respect for the natural world. He not only inspired me to cherish all things wild and free, but encouraged me to speak up for and defend the things I love.

In other words: He greatly influenced and shaped not only who I am, but my core values, beliefs and what I do for a living. He was a wonderful and amazing man.

I’ve been taking my own son, Cory, fishing since before he can remember. Once, when he was 12, I took him on a four-day backpack trip into the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness along the Montana-Idaho border. He has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, but at that time could still cover close to two rugged miles a day with a pack on – up and down rocks, over and under downed trees, through thick brush, across creeks and atop snowfields. But the going was slow.

One of the nice things about going slow is that I started paying closer attention to all the smaller things that make up the big, beautiful wild – the glacier lilies, swamp marigolds and shooting stars; the new light-green growth on the subalpine firs and the little three-pointed, mouse tail-looking bracts protruding from the Doug fir cones; the tiny splotches of green, yellow and orange lichens on black and white granite and rhyolite, and the colorful inch-long westslope cutthroats darting away from our shadows as we waded through little creeks.

At one point we talked about how all the little springs and snow-fed creeks we crossed led to Bear Creek, which flows to the Selway, which merges into the Clearwater and into the Snake, on to the Columbia and into the Pacific. About then, in a muddy spot between a melting patch of snow and a creek, we came upon fresh bear tracks and scat. Cory smiled and brought up my long joked about “dream” of someday going through the digestive system of a grizzly to fertilize the grasses and forbs that elk eat – “Which is only fair,” I tell him, “considering all the elk I’ve killed and eaten.” Or, as Cory so simply puts it: “Dad wants to be bear poop.”

Then came the question: “Dad, if you like elk and bears so much, why don’t you work for a group that protects elk or bears instead of trout?” (I was working for Trout Unlimited at the time.) So we talked about watersheds, and the need to protect, restore and reconnect watersheds to have clean, clear water for the wild trout, salmon and steelhead he (like his dad) loves to fish for. Like his grandfather loved to fish for. Like my grandfather liked to fish for. “Protecting watersheds, I explained means “saving all the parts,” including flowers, plants, trees, birds, bees, elk and bears.

He looked at me and asked: “So when you protect trout, you also protect elk and bears?”

Bingo!

That night, aside a beautiful high alpine lake, over the red hot coals of a fire, we cooked wild trout caught by Cory.

For everyone of us the past connects to the present and on to the future — a legacy of anglers, hunters and conservationists taking care of the wild places, wildlife, fish and the waters we cherish.

Father’s play a huge role in that. The simplest little moments in life can make a huge difference.

So fathers: Take your kids fishing and enjoy — You never know how far it might go. And happy father’s day!

David Stalling is Montana Wildlife Federations Western Field Representative, a dedicated conservationist, and a proud father.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Jim Vashro has some simple, straightforward advice for anyone considering illegally introducing fish into Montana waters: “Don’t do it! You’ll hurt fishing opportunity and, if caught, there will be a hefty price to pay.”

Vashro, who retired after working 31 years as Region One Fisheries Manager with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), has taken on the serious issue of illegal fish introductions as a volunteer board member of the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF), Montana’s oldest and largest conservation organization. He and David Brooks, the Associate Director of Conservation for Montana Trout Unlimited – an organization working to conserve Montana’s coldwater fisheries and watersheds – have been working together to increase awareness and unite Montana anglers in opposition to the harmful practice of illegal fish introductions.

“It’s the biggest fisheries problem no one knows about,” Vashro says. “There have been nearly 600 documented, illegal fish introductions in about 300 waters all across Montana, and in all but 2 cases, existing fisheries were damaged and no better fishery was created.”

Illegal fish introductions displace existing sportfish and native fish; spread fish diseases; can ruin genetics, and can increase management costs through increases in hatchery plants, fisheries surveys, monitoring and treatments and increased enforcement. That takes funding away from fisheries improvements.

“Illegal fish introductions are done with no biological analysis, no public input and with no regard to the public ownership of and public interest in a fishery,” says David Brooks. “Simply put: they reduce fishing opportunity and increase the cost of fishing licenses.”

Vashro and Brooks are circulating a sign-on letter calling for more law enforcement, stricter fines, and other efforts to stop the damage being done to our fisheries and fishing opportunities. Thus far, 30 organizations across the state have signed on. Among them: Montana Pikemasters, Montana B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, International Federation of Fly Fishers, the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, and Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Their goal is to sign on every angling club in the state. They are also asking individual anglers and businesses to sign an online pledge supporting their efforts, available here: https://montanawildlife.org/bucketbiology/

“We hope this effort will raise awareness of this serious problem” Vashro says, “and bring more resources to bear for education, prevention and remedying existing failed fisheries.”

How Can You Help? PLEASE sign our online pledge today, and share and encourage others to sign. Click here: https://montanawildlife.org/bucketbiology/