Drought prompts call for Jefferson River restrictions

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer

Rivers continue to drop in southwest Montana and state officials have asked irrigators and other users to reduce their take of water from the Jefferson River, one of the hardest hit by drought.

Plus, if that river gets much warmer, fishing could be restricted or banned there.

As of Wednesday morning, the Jefferson at Twin Bridges was flowing at only 440 cubic feet per second, less than half of its mean flow for Aug. 4 of 964 cfs.

If the water temperature reaches 73 degrees Fahrenheit for three days in a row, fishing could be prohibited between noon and midnight, said Ron Spoon, a fisheries biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The Jefferson River Watershed Council has called for voluntary contributions to improve streamflow.

However, farther downstream the conditions appear to be even worse, according to a streamflow Web site operated by the U.S. Geological Services.

At a measuring station at Three Forks, the Jefferson is a relative trickle of only 135 cfs, compared to its mean flow of 951 cfs.

There are diversion ditches used by farmers and ranchers between Twin Bridges and Three Forks.

Ag producers "cut back slightly" when asked, said Bill Fairhurst, a Three Forks activist on hunting and fishing issues. If the water gets much lower, he predicted a fish kill, which wouldn't be the first one.

Low flows and high water temperatures, when coupled with "an unacceptable level of stress" from fishing pressure, can kill fish, according to a FWP release.

The state is in the sixth year of drought, which is especially severe in the Jefferson drainage.

Fairhurst predicted the Montana Legislature, sooner or later, will have to take on the complicated issue of water rights and find a way to ensure instream flows.

"Society has rights (to the water), same as the irrigators," Fairhurst said.

Meanwhile, drought keeps its grip.

Recent rains have helped some streams, but the precipitation has been spotty.

The Ruby River at Alder is just under its mean flow, as is the East Gallatin River.

The West Gallatin River, at Gallatin Gateway, was flowing at 540 cfs, compared to a mean of 713.

The Madison River below Hebgen Reservoir was flowing at 948 cfs, beneath its mean flow of 1,084 cfs.

The Yellowstone River at Livingston is at 2,940 cfs, way below its mean of 4,478 cfs, while the Shields River is at 149 cfs, about one- third of its mean.

The Missouri River at Toston is at 1,370 cfs, less than half its mean of 2,819.

The upper Big Hole, near Wisdom, where ranchers have been paid more than $750,000 to leave irrigation water in the stream, is flowing at 40 cfs. While that's low -- less than half the mean flow of 89 cfs for the date -- it remains above the bare minimum of 20 cfs considered necessary for fluvial arctic grayling.

That fish is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act and, south of Canada, lives in no other streams.

Fishing was halted in the upper stretch of the Big Hole after waters fell dangerously low in May. The water climbed considerably when ranchers began closing their ditches, but has dropped as summer continues.

In past summers, FWP has imposed restrictions on fishing.

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