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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
’ ! l a c o st at L
e B e h T ‘ Volume XXXV, Number 24
River woes
Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
16 more deer positive for CWD as bulk of test results back from general season
Taking a stand on West Fork Mike Hansen’s family has owned land up the West Fork of the Bitterroot for a long time. He is an avid fisherman and has enjoyed fishing since the 1950s on a stretch of the West Fork that he can walk to from his house. He is especially avid about wade fishing. “If you can suddenly get the urge and just grab your pole and gear and walk out of the house and be down on the river in seven minutes, it’s hard to think about getting a boat,” said Hansen. The top part of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River below the dam is a very special sort of fishing ground. Late summer releases of cool water from Painted Rocks Reservoir, released specifically to preserve flows in the Bitterroot River mainstem, first come splashing down the West Fork. Having walked up and down a portion of that stretch for so many years now, Hansen is quite familiar with the place, you can be sure. But having also fly fished it on foot for so many years has made him especially
familiar with it. He can point out a pool that he has fished for decades and tell in pretty good detail how the catch has been. It changes over time due to many variables. In fact, the whole course of the river changes over time. He can show you where pools he once knew no longer exist. But some of the changes lately, over the last several years, he finds very disturbing. He believes laws were enacted by the
New Year! Wednesday, January 1, 2020
More deer positive for CWD
Mike Hansen surveys some of the remnants left by chainsaw wielding renegades who keep cutting their way through the West Fork of the Bitterroot with apparent disregard for the long term impacts on the river.
By Michael Howell
Happy
state in 1975 to prevent the kind of change he is observing. One of them, the Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act, requires a 310 permit before any disruptive activity, like removing woody debris, can take place. It was designed to protect the waters in their “natural and existing condition.” He believes that indiscriminately cutting out log jams See WEST FORK, page 3
Continually clearing out log jams in one channel of a river can lead to a scouring that deepens the channel bottom being used. This can lead to the loss of all flows in the alternate channel once high water has subsided,
The last big batch of test results from animals harvested during the general season and sampled for chronic wasting disease has turned up 16 new positives mostly in areas where the disease is already known to exist. For the first time, a deer tested positive from hunting district 705 in southeast Montana. A second white-tailed buck tested positive in HD 322 in the Ruby Valley near the town of Sheridan in southwest Montana. This batch of test results represents most of the samples collected during the general big game season. Hunters who harvest deer or elk during late seasons can still submit their lymph nodes for testing to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks lab in Boze-
man. Instructions for sampling your own animal and mailing the samples to the lab can be found at fwp.mt.gov/CWD. Test results can also be found at this link. Hunters should be aware that test results are taking about three weeks to get back from the testing facility at Colorado State University due to the holiday season. This year FWP conducted CWD surveillance in parts of northern, western and southeastern Montana, primarily from hunterharvested animals. In addition, hunters in all parts of the state were able to submit their own samples for testing. All samples are sent for testing to Colorado State University and those results were reported on a weekly basis to FWP. This year, more than 7,000 animals have been sampled statewide, and 131 have tested positive for CWD. The disease has now been detected across much of Montana, including the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest.
With the general hunting season now closed, FWP will review management strategies, testing results and other collected information to make plans for the next necessary steps in managing the disease. CWD cannot be eradicated once it infects a herd. CWD is a fatal disease that can affect the nervous system of deer, elk and moose. Transmission can most commonly occur through direct contact between animals, including urine, feces, saliva, blood and antler velvet. Carcasses of infected animals may serve as a source of environmental contamination as well and can infect other animals that come into contact it. The disease was first discovered in the wild in Montana south of Billings in 2017. There is no known transmission of CWD to humans. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that hunters harvesting an animal in an area where CWD is known to be present have their animal tested. If the animal tests positive, CDC advises against eating the meat.
Dancing with ‘Dreamy’ By Jean Schurman
A 12 year old Corvallis girl will be competing in a ballet competition on Sunday, January 5 at Rumour Restaurant in Missoula. But this won’t be just any competition. Shona Jessop will be competing with her horse, Dreamy, in the Ballet Beyond Borders competition. “They made a special provision for the horse,” said her mother, Rachel. “They didn’t think the horse would be able to get through into the Dennison Theater at the University so they got Rumour Restaurant to be the ‘stage’ for Shona.” Shona and her horse do everything together and so Shona wanted to do this dance with Dreamy. Although the horse will move around some, most of the dance will be Shona dancing around and on the horse. Her parents, Rachel and Don Jessop, own Mastery Horsemanship and teach natural horsemanship and so she has always had a horse. But Shona has not always danced. She joined Ballet Bitterroot a couple of years ago and found a new passion. She says, “Expressing myself through my own choreography and sharing my feelings excites me because I get lost in the music and motion.” Shona will compete in the young choreograph division. Her mother, who admits she is a newcomer to dance, said the competition will be judged on how well the dance fits the music, how
“You’re the one.” Shona Jessop and her horse, Dream Warrior a/k/a Dreamy, will be competing in a ballet competition in Missoula on Sunday. artistic it is, and how much emotion is in the dance. Shona will dance again next Wednesday but this time she will be by herself. If she does well in that phase of the competition, she, and Dreamy, will be slated to dance in the Dennison Theater and they will have to find a way for Dreamy to get onto the stage. Ballet Beyond Borders is presented by the Rocky Mountain
Ballet Company in Missoula. The competition is designed to not only showcase dance but also provides cultural, educational and diplomatic exchange to further human understanding and spark communication. All genres of dance are featured. Call or text 406-381-6398 if you would like to attend the luncheon competition at Rumour Restaurant.
Council members to be sworn in
This tree fell across the river with its root-wad still embedded on the bank. Someone came by with a chain saw and cut a section out of the middle of tree leaving the top on the opposite bank. The remaining trunk has since been pulled from the bank and will probably travel downstream.
The swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected Stevensville Town Council will be held on Friday, January 3 at 4 p.m. at Stevensville Town Hall, 206 Buck Street. The public ceremony will include the administering of oaths of office by Mayor Brandon Dewey for a representative in Ward 1 and two representatives
start your year off with a bang Bitterroot River Inn 139 BR Plaza Drive January 3rd & 4th 10am-7pm
in Ward 2. An open house/reception will immediately follow the ceremony. The Town Council will have two new members in 2020: Jaime Devlin and Bob Michalson. Dempsey Vick retained his seat on the Council in the November 5th election. The new Town Council will take office on Monday, January 6th, convening for their first
meeting of 2020 on Thursday, January 9th at 7 p.m. The open house following the ceremony is an opportunity for the public and media to freely interact with the newly elected council members and ask questions. The Town’s staff will be available for conversation and information as well.
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