I’d put my money on the other states. The remaining folks we have are good but recruitment is a problem. At almost every hiring cycling the fisheries division loses top candidates to other states that are able to pay livable wages, among other things.
You can conserve all the water you want with more efficient technology (pivots, whatever) but the issue remains that these basins are so over allocated that any water saved gets diverted into someone else's fields. Until we change the laws and go through mass adjudication where everyone gets adjudicated what they can reasonably use nothing can really change
Agreed. Unfortunately, management of any species/resource requires a partnership between the biologists and the politicians. At least one part of the equation is slipping in Montana and the fish probably care less than we do about which. No offense intended to the great folks at MFWP.
You would think that, but the influx of idiots these days is off the charts, and the state is just voting more and more red.
Yes 10-20%. It’s a simple equation that when get you so many more anglers they are killing more fish even inadvertently. It’s particularly bad when the water is warm. I see many dozens of dead “ released” fish stack up in the pools of the Bitterroot every summer and it’s sickening.
Certainly the large numbers and density of fishermen in certain areas adversely impacts the fisheries. However, don't overlook the predominent water rights holders and the fact that agriculture has been king in Montana forever. Summer irrigation depletes the rivers and streams to critical levels each year, and during recent drought stricken years has been severely impactful, resulting in low water levels and warm fisheries temperatures. There is a continuous dialogue between FWP and water users forever, sometimes resulting in favorable changes to improve fisheries. It's not a simple problem.
Water rights predate statehood in Montana. Don’t ever get into a battle over water rights.
I tried fishing it today, big mistake. There were boats every 50-70 yards from 3$ to the WMA (sometimes double stacked). I pulled into 3 spots to try and wade fish and there was 1-2 guys posted up in every hole. I drank a beer and headed home and have completely lost interest in fishing that river (at least in the summer months). Every fishing access looked like a Black Friday Walmart parking lot. I don’t remember it being close to this bad even 5 years ago.
We floated it yesterday as a birthday present for my son. The pressure didn’t bother me as much as the lack of fish. $650 bucks for a guided float is a little steep for 6-8 strikes in 7 hours.
