A River Revival: The Jefferson River Project
by Bruce Farling
When Montana TU and national TU partnered with funders
Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
in late winter 2001 to kick off a major effort
to improve the Jefferson River, there was no shortage
of naysayers. Some anglers, guides and landowners
said the Jeff’s problems, especially those
related to water availability, are too daunting.
Or they said the river never could be good trout
fishing for this or that reason and thus we might
be wasting our time.
But this is what we’ve found: Though the project
has a long way to go, it’s clear the venture
holds much promise for this magnificent river.
Improving the Jefferson won’t happen overnight.
It requires methodical steps, patience and local
support. Importantly, the river now has a powerful
advocate in the Jefferson River Watershed Council.
Comprised of local irrigators, TU members, business
folks and agency staffers, the council has crafted
a voluntary drought management plan that so far has
accomplished two things. First, there is now strong
support in the valley for protecting the fishery
as well as open spaces and traditional uses. Moreover,
the implementation of the plan appears to have helped
the river. Though snowpack, runoff and precipitation
last year were lower than bone-dry 1988, the river’s
flows at the critical Waterloo reach, though hardly
ideal, fell just short of our 50 cfs target. In 1988
flows were in the single digits. The difference between
the two years? In 2001, irrigators agreed to follow
the drought plan by voluntarily reducing their water
use. As a result, the river had some short-term emergency
flows to provide access for trout between pools.
In addition to the drought plan, other fish-friendly
projects are in the works. Bruce Rehwinkel, TU’s
project coordinator, has been knocking on doors,
walking irrigation ditches, scrutinizing tributaries
and working with landowners and agency staffers to
put together a compliment of projects and initiatives
that collectively could have a significant positive
impact on the Jefferson’s fishery. Among these
are projects to construct a fish ladder at a diversion
on the Boulder River north of Cardwell, place a fish
barrier on an overflow point on a large irrigation
ditch that is entraining trout, improve several spring
creeks near Waterloo and reconstruct a small tributary
near Sappington Bridge. Bruce also recently supervised
the application of a temporary sealant on 22 miles
of leaky irrigation ditches. We estimate some 50
percent of the water diverted at the headgates is
lost through percolation from the ditches into groundwater.
Irrigators in the valley have agreed to try the sealant
to see if we can reduce their demands on the river.
Some of these same landowners are working with Butte’s
National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
in a water conservation program that deploys computerized
soil moisture probes that allow ranchers to more
efficiently schedule irrigation. Use of the probes
has the potential to save water and landowner pumping
costs while also maintaining or even increasing crop
production.
Besides the 15-20 individual water conservation and
restoration projects we have identified for possible
implementation, the Jefferson project is also helping
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks with a telemetry
study to help pinpoint fish movement and important
spawning areas. Moreover, we’re helping with
fish population monitoring and collecting flow data
on ditches and tributaries. We also haven’t
overlooked the big picture. TU is starting to examine
how operation of Clark Canyon Reservoir in the upper
Beaverhead drainage has affected the channel length,
geometry and sediment transport capabilities of the
Jefferson River. It appears that the dam’s
squelching of regular spring peak flows could be
reducing aquatic habitat on the Jefferson. It might
be possible to modify operations at Clark Canyon
to periodically release higher flows that benefit
the lower Beaverhead and Jefferson while also ensuring
the reservoir continues to provide irrigation water
and flatwater recreation.
Finally, because so much of the project revolves
around water availability and water conservation
(which to do right requires money), we have approached
Congress for help. TU national and Montana TU have
asked Montana’s congressional delegation to
sponsor a federal appropriation request to help fund
needed hydrological studies and pilot conservation
projects that will better focus our work. Sen. Baucus
has made an official appropriation request for fiscal
year 2003, and it has been actively supported by
Sen. Burns. Rep. Rehberg’s staff has also expressed
support.
None of the success or promise of the Jefferson Project
would be possible without the hard work of a ton
of people. Project coordinator Bruce Rehwinkel is
doing a bang-up job identifying projects, talking
to landowners, designing projects and raising money.
In addition, the project wouldn’t happen without
the invaluable help of TU national’s Whit Fosburgh,
the main guy behind project funding. TU members should
thank Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
for their generous financial support. And finally,
we would be nowhere without FWP biologist Ron Spoon,
local landowners, two key TU chapters and a supportive
press. Working with Bruce, Ron has been the linchpin
in helping us identify priorities and better understand
the fishery. Local landowners, especially those active
in the watershed council continue to be THE key contributors
to the project. Council Chairman Gary Nelson, as
well as Bob Lombardi and Mark Gornick, have worked
hard for the river, demonstrating that partnerships
between the ranching community and conservationists
do have much in common.
Mike Morris of NCAT and Paul Azevedo, a water planner
from Montana’s Department of Natural Resources & Conservation,
have also been pivotal in water conservation projects
and planning in the Jeff Valley. And of course, the
Lewis and Clark and George Grant Chapters of TU continue
to be instrumental in the watershed council with
individual projects. Last year the Lewis and Clark
Chapter donated the proceeds of its annual fundraiser
to the Jefferson Project — $6,000 of hard-earned
money that we were able to leverage with funds from
Orvis and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation. And finally,
the press has taken close interest in the project,
reporting on the genuine white-hat cooperation that
is occurring among ranchers, conservationists and
agencies. Glenn Marx, publisher of the Whitehall
Ledger, has especially zeroed in on the project with
informed reporting and editorials.
Why mention all these people? We do so to demonstrate
that much like in the Blackfoot, Big Hole, Bitterroot
and upper Clark Fork valleys, cooperation—not
conflict—between ranchers and TU is both pervasive
and productive.
