Committee Strives to Revitalize the Big Hole Despite River Closure

By Lucia Stewart, 7-05-07

	Caption: Photo by David Nolt

The Big Hole River in Southwest Montana is renowned blue-ribbon trout fishing bordered by old intact ranches that provide scenic open space, expansive wildlife habitat — and, of course, the controversy over contrasting water use when there’s very little of it.

The 19-miles closure on the Upper Big Hole today is in response to the low flow and high water temperatures in the remaining 4 percent of Arctic Grayling habitat left in the United States — where so few are left, a truthful statistical analysis cannot even be obtained.

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) closure is the only enforceable part of the Big Hole River Drought Management Plan that defines the action plan for irrigation, stock diversions, municipal water and angler use when water levels are low.

“That plan had to recognize there is a law under Montana Codes’ water rights, that people have the right to use water for beneficial uses for livestock and watering and that right can not be taken away,” said Noorjahan Parwana, director of the Big Hole Watershed Committee. “Any kind of action that is undertaken has to try to achieve voluntary reduction of water use.”

But the ad hoc group, known as the Big Hole Watershed Committee, has not always worked cooperatively on maintaining flows while meeting everyone’s diverse needs, but current funding, programs and projects are slowly showing a success story for one of the first drought plans put into effect in Western Montana.

After a massive fish kill occurred in 1994 due to record low water, controversy precipitated that appealed Montana Governor Marc Racicot’s involvement to set the ground rules for respectful communication and conversation under one roof.

The Big Hole River Drought Management Plan was then adopted in 2000 to assist in mitigating damage to the fisheries during dry years. The Big Hole Watershed Committee, who implements the plan, is made up of 22 governing members, which are 50 percent ranchers and farmers and 50 percent conservation groups, sportsman, commercial outfitters, municipalities and local government interests. Running for many years as a voluntary, ad hoc group, the committee gained its non-profit status three years ago when Parwana joined as director.

Parwana closely monitors the water gauges and snow pack levels, makes sure the ranchers phone tree’s are activated when water levels drop, revamps the drought plan as needed, works with local groups and ranchers in an on-going effort to maintain and revive healthy riparian habitat — to name just a few of her jobs roles.

Most recently, she’s working on partnership with the Nature Conservancy, Montana Trout Unlimited, Montana Department of Natural Resource and Conservation (DNRC), US Fish and Wildlife Services, Montana FWP and the BLM, to identify and prioritize projects and funding to implement congressional habitat restoration projects in the Big Hole River drainage.

With over 400 points of diversion on the Big Hole, cost sharing of fixing leaky head gates, flow measuring devises, updating irrigation structures and drillings wells can assist in making better use of flows no matter what the conditions are.

With the 06-07-snow pack averages in the drainage hovering between 60-70 percent in early winter and struggling at 30-40 percent thereafter, “the Big Hole is one of the hardest hit watersheds in Western Montana,” said Parwana.

The two major run offs — the early-spring valley melts and late-June alpine runoff — occurred three weeks early this year.

“It seems to be an trend that snow pack is coming off earlier then it did 50 years ago,” said Parwana. “It seems we have long term climate change with low snow pack which prolongs our drought.”

The warm weather in May and early June didn’t assist either.

“We are facing much more difficult conditions year after year in terms of how much water is available for ranchers, fishes and commercial outfitting,” said Parwana. “So this makes in-stream flows become more challenging every year and we are having to do more and ask more than we might have asked 10 years ago.”

The 19-mile closed stretch begins at Rock Creek Road, 5 miles from Wisdom, to the mouth of the North Fork, 15 miles from Wisdom. This is one of 4 reaches that breakup the Big Hole River into management sections.

This upper reach is home to the last remaining river-dwelling, or fluvial, Arctic Grayling population in the lower 48. Once found in the stretches of the Missouri River System including the Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson and Beaverhead Rivers, the grayling exists primarily in the upper Big Hole River system near Wisdom, Montana. The next existing population is found several hundred miles north in Canada.

Many found the recent petition rejection for emergency listing of the arctic grayling surprising.

But in reply, the USFWS has created a Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA), which is being spearheaded by Montana and the Big Hole being the largest complex. It is a document that is signed in partnership with landowners and USFWS to commit to improvements to property and management practices that will not harm or will improve potential habitat for the artic grayling.

Currently, 20 landowners have signed the CCAA, equating to 142,800 acres or 46 percent of the private land in the upper Big Hole.

“It’s the ethical choice of each individual – they have the right to use their water, but if everyone works collectively, it amazing,” said Parwana. “Most people do but they have the right to not participate. All we can do is encourage and educate. It can be tough since we are not an enforcement, and some people don’t realize that.”

Currently, the Upper Big Hole is not adjudicated, so therefore has no water commissioner monitoring water uses and flow— although it is in preliminary decree to employ one.

The Big Hole Watershed Committee does employs a ditch rider, who travels up and down river working with landowners on how to cut back on the water, a position funded by Trout Unlimited.

“People have the right to use more water than is in the river, as most of our rivers in Montana are over appropriated,” said Parwana. “When things start running low, people start running hot. But we are a group of people who have worked together for 10 years, every month, year after year, trying to sit down together and create positive solutions.”