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May 31, 2006
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Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA WATER
NEWS will come your way via email every month with fresh news about meetings
and water topics that we hope is of interest to you. If you do not want to receive
this newsletter, please scroll down and follow the directions to unsubscribe.
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the newsletter online in the newsletter archives. |
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| Two
Summers in a Trailer behind Ma’s Café |
Brian Bellgraph with a Freshwater
Drum. |
Amid the hustle and bustle of
the American Fisheries Society Conference in Bozeman where he would be shortly presenting his
work, Brian Bellgraph seemed happy to recollect his summers spent living behind Ma’s Café.
He spoke of his research on the decline of sauger (Sander canadensis) in the middle
reach of the Missouri River.
While spending two summers living
in a trailer on Highway 87 near Loma, Brian analyzed diets, tracked walleye and sauger, and
watched how these fish interact in the ever-changing Middle Missouri River ecosystem. Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Park’s list of native fish species includes sauger, but not walleye. Sauger
are listed as a “species of concern.” Brian studied the potential competition between sauger
and walleye, searching for answers to recorded sauger decline.
“The sauger population crashed
in Montana during the 1980s after drought-like conditions, but rose in the 1990s as the water
levels changed. The Middle Missouri experienced the crash but never really saw the population
return to safe levels,” Brian explains. Adding to the loss, Brian also predicts that 20% of
sauger hybridize into saugeye. Brian isn’t so quick to blame walleye for holding back the return
of sauger. “The Missouri River is now more like a lake and less like a river. Sauger thrive
in muddy river-like conditions.”
Since the Flood Control Act
of 1944, six dams in three states have tamed the once mighty Missouri River. Fort Peck Dam
in Montana causes some clearing, making it tough for sauger-preferred conditions to prevail
in the river. Changes in the flow and turbidity have also favored walleye survival over sauger.
Brian hypothesizes that sauger had been the top predator before walleye entered the scene and,
although the number of walleye and sauger may be too low for competition right now, future
sauger decline may be attributed to a competition for resources.
Brian is a 2005-2006 recipient
of the Montana Water Center Student Research Fellowship, and is currently earning his masters
degree in Fisheries at Montana State University in Bozeman.
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Do
you have more news?
Many
Montana Water News articles are generated by the Montana Water Center’s new student
intern, Evan Tennant. Evan is studying public policy at Montana State University
with a special interest in water policy. He spends what free time he has writing
stories for this e-newsletter. Do you have some stories of interest you would like
him to feature? If so, please contact Evan at ewtennant@montana.edu. He’d like to
hear from you. |
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| Conference
Abstracts Can Now Be Submitted Online |
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Those planning to present at the
Annual Meeting of the Montana Section of the American Water Resources Association in Polson,
Montana on October 12 and 13, can now submit abstracts for consideration. Go to http://water.montana.edu/awra/abstracts.
Submittal deadline is July 12, 2006. |
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| Stormwater
Fair in Bozeman |
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The Greater Gallatin Watershed
Council is hosting a Stormwater Fair on Thursday, June 1st from 6:00 - 8:30 PM at the Bozeman
Public Library Meeting Room. Come learn about our urban streams by participating in hands-on
outdoor activities along Bozeman Creek, listen to presentations on stormwater 101 and urban
stream issues, and get information on Bozeman's stormwater management plan. For more information
visit http://www.greatergallatin.org. |
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| The
Law of Ecosystem Restoration: National Policy Implications of the Clark Fork River Basin Natural
Resource Damage (NRD) Program |
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The 30th annual Public Land & Resources
Law Conference at the University of Montana School of Law will be held on September 25-27 in
Missoula, Montana. Featured speakers include Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett
and Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath. The program will examine trends in national NRD
law and policy, look closely at the experience in the Clark Fork River Basin, and reflect on
lessons learned there and elsewhere with NRD implementation. Visit http://www.umt.edu/publicland/Conference.htm for more information. To request a brochure, please contact the Public Land & Resources
Law Review at (406) 243-6568 or plrlr@umontana.edu. |
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| 2007
River Rally |
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The 2007 River Rally will be held
May 18-22, 2007 at Dolce Skamania Lodge near Stevenson, Washington. Go to: http://www.rivernetwork.org/rally for
more information. Now is the time to put this training event on your calendar and in your budget
as the River Rally is the most widely-anticipated training opportunity for river conservation
organizations and watershed partnerships in the nation. |
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| Supreme
Court Ruling |
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For those tracking the question
raised to the U.S. Supreme Court about state authority under the Clean Water Act to certify
under Section 401 (and whether dams result in “discharges”), the decision in support of state
authority was unanimous. In S.D. Warren Co. v. Dep't of Maine, 04-1527, the Court ruled unanimously
in an opinion penned by Justice David Souter, that "The issue in this case is whether
operating a dam to produce hydroelectricity 'may result in any discharge into the navigable
waters' of the United States. If so, a federal license under Section 401 of the Clean Water
Act requires state certification that water protection laws will not be violated. We hold that
a dam does raise a potential for a discharge, and state approval is needed." Justice Antonin
Scalia did not join the section of the opinion on legislative history. See the following links
for more details.
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| Developments
in Whirling Disease Research |
In the latest
issue of Aquaculture Health International, the Montana Water Center's Kajsa Stromberg writes
about the value, impacts, and history of the Whirling Disease Symposium. The work of the Whirling
Disease Initiative and the Whirling Disease Foundation now points to advancements in the detection
and prevention of this destructive disease. Download the latest issue at http://water.montana.edu/attachments/
AHI_05_MAY_2006.pdf. Kajsa's article is on page 31. |
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| New
Rocky Mountain Research Station Publication |
| Quantifying
channel maintenance instream flows: an approach for gravel-bed streams in the Western United
States, by
Larry Schmidt and John Potyondy of the USDA Forest Service, discusses one approach for quantifying
instream flow needed to achieve the Forest Service Organic Act's goal of securing favorable
flow conditions. The approach is appropriate for quantifying channel maintenance flows on perennial,
unregulated, snowmelt-dominated, gravel-bed streams with alluvial reaches. Download publication
RMRS-GTR-128 at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr128.html. |
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| Growing
Global Consensus on Climate Change Problem |
| A 30-country poll
released April 25 finds that a majority in all countries polled believe climate change is a
serious problem. On average, 90 percent say that “climate change or global warming, due to
the greenhouse effect” is a serious problem. Dr. Steven Kull, director of the Program on International
Policy Attitudes, said “the universality of the consensus that climate change is a serious
problem is quite extraordinary.” The poll of 33,237 people from all major regions of the world
was conducted by GlobeScan Incorporated between October 2005 and January 2006, and analyzed
in conjunction with World Public Opinion. In the United States, Hurricanes Rita and Katrina
appear to have had an impact on Americans’ perceptions of the role of human causes in extreme
weather patterns. In fall of 2004, 58 percent of Americans said they viewed “extreme weather
patterns, including violent storms, flooding, and drought” as “part of a natural pattern.”
In fall of 2005, only 39 percent attributed these patterns to natural patterns. Click on the
following links for the full news stories: World
Public Opinion and Insurance
Journal. |
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| Don't
Forget: |
| The
National AWRA meeting, Adaptive Management of Water Resources, will be held
in Missoula on June 26-28, 2006. Find more at http://awra.org/meetings/Montana2006/index.html.
The Governor’s Restoration
Forum on June 8 and 9, 2006 will be offered in conjunction with the 10th Annual Billings
Land Reclamation Forum on June 4 - 8, 2006. Go to http://www.restoration.mt.gov for
the latest information. |
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So
many meetings, so little time. Take special note of upcoming national and local water
meetings on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
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 River
Short Courses 2006, Nationwide Locations, 2006 Year-round
[INFO] |
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Call
for Papers: ASABE Conference on Watershed Managemant, San Antonio, TX, June 1 - August 18,
2006
[INFO]
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MWCC
E&O Committee Meeting, Helena, June 1, 2006
[INFO] |
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Greater
Gallatin Watershed Council Spring 2006 Stormwater Fair, Bozeman, June 1, 2006
[INFO]
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Billings
Land Reclamation Symposium 2006, Billings, June 4 - 6, 2006
[INFO] |
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Missouri
River Conservation Districts Council Quarterly Meeting, Winnett, June 7, 2006
[INFO]
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11th
Annual Contaminated and Hazardous Waste Site Management, Toronto, Ontario, June 12
- 16, 2006
[INFO] |
Watershed
Tour on Collaborative Education, Bozeman, June 19 - 23, 2006
[INFO] |
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47th
Western Fish Disease Workshop, Victoria, BC, June 26 - 28, 2006
[INFO]
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AWRA
2006 Summer Specialty Conference: Adaptive Management of Water Resources, Missoula, June 26
- 28, 2006
[INFO]
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GRAFEPHS
2006: International Conference in GIS and Health, Hong Kong, June 19 - 23, 2006
[INFO]
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2006
Community Involvement Conference and Training, Milwaukee, WI, June 27 - 30, 2006
[INFO]
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Sustainability
Fair 2006, Livingston, July 8, 2006
[INFO]
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Universities
Council on Water Resources: Ph.D. Dissertation Awards, Santa Fe, NM, July 18- 20, 2006
[INFO]
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2006
NIWR Annual Conference: Increasing Freshwater Supplies, Santa Fe, NM, July 18 - 20, 2006
[INFO]
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North
American Surface Water Quality Conference & Exposition, Denver, CO, July 24 - 27, 2006
[INFO]
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Grants
101: Professional Grant Proposal Writing Workshop, Missoula, July 24 - 26, 2006
[INFO]
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NESC
7th Annual Enivormental Institute, Morgantown, WV, July 25 - 28, 2006
[INFO]
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Hydro
Vision 2006, Portland, OR, July 31 - August 4, 2006
[INFO]
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