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Tongue River Monitoring

The USGS Montana District has initiated an 11-site water-quality monitoring program in the Tongue River in response to a Congressional funding allocation set in motion by Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.). The goal of the program is to collect information for areas of potential coal-bed methane (CBM) development in Montana and Wyoming. The water-quality information is being used by irrigators, industry, and regulatory agencies in Montana and Wyoming.

CBM development has begun in part of the Tongue River watershed and more is expected in the future. Water produced from CBM wells has the potential to degrade water quality if discharged to streams.

The quality of water in the Tongue River currently is suitable for irrigation. Irrigators, industry, and government agencies are concerned that without monitoring data, the effects of CBM development on irrigation and other uses will not be known. All data, as well as a project description and fact sheet, can be accessed at the Tongue River Monitoring Website.

Student Water Researcher Profile

Peter J. Brown is a doctoral student at Montana State University working with Dr. Alexander Zale, Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, and John Olson, undergraduate student, on a research investigation entitled: Evaluation of the Efficiency and Efficacy of Non-Native Fish Eradication and Exclusion Techniques for Native Fish Restoration.

Raised in Buffalo, New York, Peter received a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1998. He then worked as a fisheries technician before returning to school to earn a Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. There, he studied the relationship between habitat and survival of smallmouth bass during early life history. Peter now pursues his Ph.D. “in the hopes of being able to continue researching the ecology behind fisheries management problems in the Intermountain West.”

Project Description

Native fish conservation has become a pressing issue for managers because of recent threats posed by non-native fish species.  Competition for resources drives native populations to extinction, while hybridization reduces the genetic integrity of native populations.  To combat this, fish restoration projects have conserved threatened and endangered species and are beginning to rid water bodies of non-native species. Techniques include fish toxicants and physical barriers. However, despite their widespread use as a management tool, these techniques are rarely evaluated for success or failure.

The goal of Peter’s project is to increase the success rate of native fish restoration projects through improved non-native eradication and exclusion techniques. To achieve this goal, he is interviewing project leaders and conducting site visits to restoration projects to identify state-of-the-art methods of fish removal and barrier design. Objectives are to: 1) identify the methods currently used in fish eradication and exclusion projects, and 2) identify the qualities of both successful and unsuccessful native fish restoration projects. Subsequent field and laboratory research will focus on increasing the efficiency of these exclusion protocols. Target restoration projects include those on Vermejo Creek, New Mexico; Labarge Creek, Wyoming; and Cherry Creek, Montana.

Peter looks forward to producing a manual for barrier design. Further, these interactions and interviews will identify the research questions that will be addressed during the second phase of his investigation. Later, Peter and his team will conduct electro-fishing surveys to evaluate the success of native fish restoration in streams that used a variety of removal and exclusion techniques. Multiple-pass electro-fishing will be used in areas accessible to non-natives (i.e., downstream of barriers) and areas ostensibly inaccessible to non-natives (i.e., upstream of barriers) to compare species composition and population abundances. The barrier will be analyzed along with potential hydrographs of the region to determine if the barrier is of sufficient design to exclude non-native species.

So many meetings, so little time. Even so, there are a few that water folks just shouldn't miss! Find more information on these and other upcoming events on the Events Calendar at MONTANA WATER.

Brown Bag Lunch Seminar: Restoring the Everglades presented by April E. Huffman, MSU, Bozeman, MT, August 16, 2004 [INFO]

Science and Policy: Aquatic Nuisance Species in Montana, Yellowstone Public Radio, Billings, MT, August 23, 2004 [INFO]

Gallatin Watershed Network Brownbag Lecture: Kevin Kundert: Small Systems Water Management, Bozeman, MT, September 1, 2004 [INFO]

2004 Watershed Coordinators Training Retreat, Utica, MT, September 19 - 21, 2004 [INFO]

Assessing and Re-naturalizing Streams Impacted By Dam and Dam Removal, Missoula, MT, September 23 - 24, 2004 [INFO]

71st Annual Water School for Water and Wastewater Operators and Managers, Bozeman, MT, September 27 - 30, 2004 [INFO]

21st Annual Meeting of the Montana Section of the American Water Resources Association, Helena, MT, October 4 - 5, 2004 [INFO]