The Waterblogger

Summer 2010 Restoration Around the Clark Fork Basin

2010-05-25T10:54:00.008-06:00

Butte

While the EPA Five-Year Review of Butte Superfund sites continues, reclamation and restoration work is still ongoing in the area. At the top of the Butte hill near Walkerville construction will be completed in 2010 on the Granite Mountain Memorial Interpretive Area. The Memorial itself is being expanded, and an already partially-completed trail will connect that area to the greater uptown Butte trail system. This new trail will provide the public with access to the historic Foreman’s Park near the Mountain Con mine yard.

Monitoring of stormwater and groundwater is also ongoing to insure that metals and other mining contaminants from the Butte hill do not recontaminate the restored Silver Bow Creek. New groundwater monitoring wells are being installed near the historic Silver Bow Creek channel, commonly known as the Metro Storm Drain, and also in Lower Area One on the west side of the Butte, where treatment lagoons capture contaminated groundwater and surface water to prevent contamination from reaching Silver Bow Creek.

Beyond 2010 the Metro Storm Drain and Lower Area One treatment lagoons will be evaluated; best management practices for stormwater will be implemented; the Butte Reclamation Evaluation System will continue to monitor capped mine dumps on the Butte hill to ensure that historic mine wastes are not spreading; and the voluntary Residential Metals Abatement Program will continue to assist residents in assessing and removing historic wastes present in Butte homes.

Work also continues on the restoration of Silver Bow Creek. Through the summer, crews are removing mine waste and restoring the creek through Durant Canyon and near Fairmont Hot Springs.
Above: A restored reach of Silver Bow Creek near Butte shows a developing riparian plant community.

Above: An unrestored reach of Silver Bow Creek near Anaconda has little vegetation along the streambank due to the presence of mine tailings; these acid and heavy metal-laden soils prevent most plants from growing. This reach is slated for restoration in the next 1-2 years.

Anaconda

A lot of clean-up is underway in Anaconda, including reclamation north of Warm Springs Creek near the Galen Highway; clean-up of the Airport property; and Montana DEQ will begin reclamation on Stucky Ridge. Clean-up also continues along rail lines and rail yards.

In 2010, EPA will begin the fourth Five-Year Review of the Anaconda Smelter site. Reviews address portions of the site where remedial construction has been completed and where EPA has determined the remedy is operational and functional.

Next door at Opportunity, management continues at the BP-Arco Waste Repository.
The site, formerly the Opportunity Ponds, was a tailings repository for the Anaconda Smelter. It covers an area of over five square miles, with deposits of mine waste averaging about 20 feet deep. Due to that considerable volume of contamination, wastes removed from elsewhere in the Clark Fork Basin are transported to the Opportunity Ponds site. Topsoils are then revegetated to reduce erosion.

During the five-year review of Anaconda sites, EPA and DEQ welcome public comments regarding Anaconda-area work, and comments may help to determine recommendations for the future. Citizens may send written comments through May 28 to:

Charlie Coleman
Remedial Project Manager
10 West 15th Street, Suite 3200
Helena, MT 59626; or

John Brown
Superfund Project Officer
P.O. Box 200901
Helena, MT 59620-0901.

Milltown Area

At the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers, the last trainload of contaminated sediments left the Milltown site on September 24, 2009. Work still continues at the site to restore the historic stream channel. The Clark Fork River is currently diverted until that work can be completed. Once that work is done, restoration of the greater confluence site will begin.

The Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee (CFRTAC) has a wealth of additional information on their website at http://www.cfrtac.org/.

Checking In with Clark Fork Ecosystems and Spring Field Season Photos

2010-05-25T10:44:00.007-06:00

CFWEP’s spring field season started off cold and windy, but things have been warming nicely. So far, CFWEP has collected field data with four Butte area schools: Butte Central, Fred Moodry Middle School, Ramsay Middle School, and East Middle School.

Fred Moodry Middle School sampled water chemistry, vegetation, macroinvertebrates and soil from Silver Bow Creek near Anaconda (a mining-impacted site) and from the unimpacted Warm Springs Creek in Anaconda. The students findings were striking. For example, the conductivity at the impacted site was twice as high as the unimpacted site, indicating that there were more dissolved particles at that location on Silver Bow Creek. Both sites had a high diversity of macroinvertebrates, but only unimpacted Warm Springs Creek had stonefly and mayfly larvae, which are the most sensitive indicators of healthy streams. The students found a high diversity of vegetation at the unimpacted site, with a healthy mix of ground cover, understory and over story, while the impacated site vegetation habitat consisted of tailings, bare ground and pollution tolerant plants. All of the students clearly enjoyed their field trips, and kudos to them for braving sometimes wet, windy, cold conditions to do science.

Below are photos from various winter-spring 2010 field trips and education projects.

Butte students help to improve the Butte stormwater system that discharges into Silver Bow Creek.

Students visit the Kalsta Ranch on the Big Hole River on a recent field trip.

Students from Bonner visit the Berkeley Pit as part of a field trip to Butte.

Anaconda students visit the BP-Arco Waste Repository, formerly known as the Opportunity Ponds.

NRDP Funds Proposed for New Projects

2010-05-25T10:39:00.005-06:00

The State of Montana’s Natural Resource Damages Program (NRDP) administers Clark Fork restoration settlement funds through an annual grant process. Montana's governor makes the final funding decisions on grant projects. The UCFRB Remediation and Restoration Advisory Council advises the governor on the restoration process and funding. To date, NRDP has funded 91 projects that help make the basin's natural resources healthy and provide opportunities for the public to enjoy these resources. The NRDP has been a major funder of CFWEP.

The following projects are proposed for funding in 2010, listed by applicant and project name, followed by a short project description and project costs requested from NRDP and other sources:

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Anaconda System-wide Metering Project: Install water meters on all 2,642 un-metered water system connections over 2 years to achieve system-wide metering, conserve water supply, and replace lost groundwater resources.
NRDP funding: $3,622,708. Other funding: $253,961.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Anaconda Waterline – Year 9: Replace 12,200 feet of leaking waterline in Anaconda. This is the 9th year of continuing waterline replacement projects.
NRDP funding: $2,644,390. Other funding: $220,386.
Butte-Silver Bow, Big Hole River Pump Station Replacement Project: Replace the deteriorated Big Hole Pump Station, which is part of the Big Hole water system that supplies drinking water to Butte.
NRDP funding: $3,500,000. Other funding: $500,000.
Butte-Silver Bow, Big Hole Transmission Line – Year 4: Replace 20,000 feet of the leaking Big Hole Transmission Line, which supplies drinking water to Butte. This is the 4th year of a continuing waterline replacement project.
NRDP funding: $2,760,000. Other funding: $690,000.
Butte-Silver Bow, Butte Waterline – Year 10: Replace 13,000 feet of leaking waterline in Butte and install 500 meters in un-metered homes. This is the 10th year of a continuing waterline replacement project and the 2nd year of voluntary meter installations.
NRDP funding: $1,817,546. Other funding: $201,950.
Clark Fork Coalition, Racetrack Creek Flow Restoration Project: Secure the right to maintain and enhance in-stream flow for the benefit of the fishery resource of Racetrack Creek, a tributary of the Upper Clark Fork River.
NRDP funding: $500,000. Other funding: $515,000.
Deer Lodge Conservation District, 2010 Native Plant Materials: Continue to select and market superior-performing native plant materials well adapted to the conditions of mining-impacted areas in the UCFRB and provide certified seed and plants to commercial seed growers and conservation seedling nurseries (4 year project).
NRDP funding: $252,279. Other funding: $81,000.
East Ridge Foundation with U.S. Forest Service, Maud S Canyon Trails and Open Space Project: Increase recreational opportunities by conducting land acquisition, land reclamation, and trail development activities in Maud S Canyon east of Butte.
NRDP funding: $355,920. Other funding: $132,295.
Rocky Mountain Supercomputing Centers, Inc., Knowledge Resource Mining in the UCFRB: Develop a “tool” that will allow for immediate access to and analysis of the data collected in the UCFRB over the years by various entities using a GIS-user interface and provide links to the governing documents with that data.
NRDP funding: $376,160. Other funding: $66,815.
Skyline Sports and Butte-Silver Bow, Children’s Fishing Pond/Hillcrest Open Space Project: Develop a children’s fishing pond, repair the riparian and upland areas, create an outdoor educational component, and develop trails in the Hillcrest open space area east of
Butte.
NRDP funding: $1,566,998. Other funding: $770,136.
The University of Montana (Flathead Lake Biological Station and Montana Tech), Restoration, Nutrients, and Green River Bottoms: Initiate and conduct monitoring over 2 years to evaluate the relationships between nutrients, algae and macrophytes, and river processes that produce and consume oxygen along restored and unaltered portions of the Upper Clark Fork River.
NRDP funding: $268,367. Other funding: $73,826.
Watershed Restoration Coalition, 2010 Cottonwood Creek: Improve aquatic and riparian habitat in lower Cottonwood Creek by increasing in-stream flows, improving fish passage, and enhancing riparian habitat.
NRDP funding: $289,647. Other funding: $169,484.

Additionally, there are currently two proposals for uses of NRDP funds outside of the normal grant process. The first is for the roughly $17 million purchase by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) of the 28,000 acre Spotted Dog Ranch near Deer Lodge. Funding for the proposed aquisition would come from the principal balance of the NRDP account, known as the Upper Clark Fork River Basin Restoration Fund. Under public ownership, the ranch would become a Wildlife Management Area.

Also being considered is a proposal to fund a new museum dedicted to mining, reclamation and culture in Butte. Estimates vary, but roughly $30-40 million dollars of the restoration principal is being considered for the museum.

Funded or not, these two proposals will have a significant impact on future management of Clark Fork restoration dollars. As of Oct. 1, 2009, the restoration fund had a balance of $170 million, with about $48 million of that cash already committed to approved grant projects but not yet spent. In other words, if funded, these two projects combined would spend out roughly a third of the restoration fund principal.

Southwest Montana Science Partnership Update

2010-05-25T10:18:00.003-06:00

Above: Teachers in the SMSP learn about Montana landscapes with geologist Dick Gibson atop the Alice Hill in Walkerville.

The Southwest Montana Science Partnership (SMSP) program welcomed our second Cohort of 3rd - 6th grade teachers in January. Teachers in Cohort II are rapidly moving through the SMSP modules, and have completed mapping, landforms and soils to date. Cohort I teachers completed a snow study module led by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull and a birds module led by Dr. Andrea Stierle. Both cohorts will be together this summer for a module on plants, flowers, and trees and a second module on aquatic macroinvertebrates. Additionally, CFWEP is working to make online SMSP modules available for free to all teachers via www.cfwep.org as they are completed by the SMSP participating teachers.

The SMSP project is funded by a ESEA, Title II Part B Mathematics and Science Partnership Grant through the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

Bulltrout, The Blackfoot River & Milltown

2010-05-25T10:02:00.004-06:00

While the last sediments contaminated by historic mine waste were shipped by rail away from the former Milltown Dam site at the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers near the end of 2009, much work remains to be done at the site. There are still roughly 4 million cubic yards of mining contaminated sediments left behind at the site. These additional contaminants were left because the removal of the dam and saturate sediments left them high and dry, where likelihood of them ever becoming entrained in the river or contaminating the groundwater is slim to nothing.

An April 11 article in The Missoulian described the concerns of some local residents regarding the impact on native bull trout from work at the site. Concerns for bull trout stem from work on the piers that support the Interstate 90 overpass over the Blackfoot, just before it joins with the Clark Fork. The Clark Fork River is currently diverted into a side channel running near I-90 while crews continue reclamation and restoration of the natural stream channel. This situation has caused the Blackfoot, as it flows under I-90, to narrow, and water velocity speeds up as a result. Some Bonner residents are concerned that this will make it difficult for bull trout to navigate.

Above: The diverted Clark Fork River now flows through an artificial channel near I-90 while crews continue to restore the historic floodplain and river channel.

Bull trout were listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998. The bulls are a sensitive species that do not tolerate high sediment levels in their spawning streams. Many Upper Clark Fork tributaries are considered spawning streams for bulls. The Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering a proposal to increase the amount of land considered critical habitat for bull trout, noting that “Bull trout depend on cold, clear water and are excellent indicators of water quality. Protecting and restoring their habitat contributes to the water quality of rivers and lakes throughout the Northwest.”

Pat Saffel, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) fisheries manager for the region, has said that no immediate action is necessary. Fish passage at the overpass is typically only an issue during short periods of high flow. When the water level comes back down, the fish can navigate the narrow, rapid channel. The EPA is currently reviewing the issue, and FWP is monitoring fish populations in the area to better understand the effects of the removal of the Milltown Dam.

Short-term impacts related to the reclamation and restoration of the old reservoir site may harm fish, but the long-term effects of the dam removal are likely to be very beneficial to the fishery, outweighing the short-term negatives. More remedial and redevelopment work remain in the Milltown cleanup project, which is expected to end in 2011. Once all is said and done, the connectivity of the Clark Fork Basin will be greatly improved, giving native fish like the bull and cutthroat trout increased opportunities to find suitable habitat and spawning grounds in the numerous Upper Clark Fork tributary streams and creeks.

Rolling Stones Fundraiser for theRiver Rat Fly Fishing & Conservation Camp

2010-05-25T09:57:00.005-06:00

To raise funds for the summer 2010 River Rat Camp for area youth, we are selling "Rolling Stones" stonefly t-shirts for a $15.00 donation. CFWEP hats are also still available for a $20.00 donation. To order:

1. Use the "Donate Now" button at www.cfwep.org - any donation of $15.00 gets you a "Rolling Stones" t-shirt, and any donation of $20.00 or over gets you a CFWEP hat. Send an email to jringsak@mtech.edu. In the body of the message, indicate your preference (green, orange, light green, blue, offwhite, winter) for hats or size preference (M, L, XL, 2XL) for shirts.

2. You can also order by mail. Simply send your donation (checks should be made out to "Montana Tech Foundation" with "CFWEP" in the memo line) and color or size preference to:

CFWEP, Attn: Membership
Montana Tech - Outreach Dept
1300 W Park St
Butte, MT 59701

Expect to receive your gift in the mail in a few days. We will see you on the river!

Spring 2010 CFWEP Acknowledgments

2010-05-25T09:51:00.003-06:00

CFWEP would like to acknowledge the following new members, volunteers and contributors. Their support and assistance makes our work possible:
Kathryn Watson & the Montana Watercourse; Jenny Wilson; Janel Evans; Chris Doyle; Karen Gillespie; Dina Alibrahim; Joe Griffin (DEQ); Doug Martin (NRDP); Kathy Coleman (NRDP); Colleen Elliott (MBMG); Andrea & Don Stierle; Gary Swant; Samantha Sheble; Lisa Sullivan; Lori Shyba; Sandra McNair; Rick Larson, Jack Henry, Tawni Cleverly, Doug Sanderson, Nate Gelling & Butte-Silver Bow County; Marisa Pedulla; Michelle Anderson; Angela Smith & the Washoe Fish Hatchery; Jeanne Larson; Jeremy Weber; Theresa Rader; Montana Environmental Education Association; Marilyn and Bob Olson (Embroidery Plus); Digger Athletic Association; Montana Tech Foundation; George Goody (Montana Fly Company); Chris Bradley & Mike Marcum (The Stonefly Fly Shop); Bill Callaghan; Misty Cerise Cunningham; Chris Kellogg; Mike Bader; Kristina Smucker; Rich Prodgers (Bighorn Environmental); Tim Reilly (DEQ); Jeremey Whitlock; Carlton Nelson; Meriwether Ranch; Wallace J. Nichols (bluemarbles.org); Dick Berg and John Foley (MBMG/Mineral Museum); Almetek Industries; Marko Lucich (Butte Chamber); City of Deer Lodge and Powell County; Jason Smith (Grant Kohrs Ranch); Holiday Inn Express (Butte); George Grant TU; Keri Petritz; Beverly Plumb; Atlas Obscura; Ken Brockman (Bureau of Reclamation); Atlantic Richfield Corporation; Erik Kalsta and Jami Murdoch; Tucker Transportation; Debbie Kearns (The Hitchin’ Post in Melrose); Michelle Anderson; Ray Brandl; Chad Buck; Pat Cunneen (NRDP); Chris Gammons; Jim Gleason (TU); Doug Joppa; Raj Kasanath; Byron Mazurek; Abbie Philips; Sara Rouse; Christine Talley; Shane Talley; Karen Wesenberg-Ward; and all those who helped out with field trips, classroom activities, teacher workshops, and events in winter and spring 2010!

Above: A long-billed curlew flies over the BP-Arco Waste Repository, formerly the Opportunity Ponds, near Anaconda.

The EPA Take a Look Back at the Last 5 Years of Butte-Area Clean-Up

2010-03-08T15:10:00.030-07:00

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and its consultants from CDM, are in the midst of a mandated Five-Year Review of Superfund sites stretching from the city of Butte down Silver Bow Creek as far as the Warm Springs Ponds. The review is a regular checkup on a Superfund site to ensure that clean-up decisions continue to protect people and the environment. Given the number of environmental issues at play in the Butte area, from capped mine dumps on the Butte Hill to signs of recontamination in Silver Bow Creek to the still-untouched West Side Soils area, the review committee will be busy. The review is expected to be completed by September 2010.

In addition to talking with on-site workers and local officials, the review committee is also interviewing Butte citizens to get their take on how environmental clean-up efforts in the area have succeeded or fallen short. The Citizens Technical Environmental Committee (CTEC), Butte's EPA-funded and citizen-led community Technical Assistance Group, recently held two public meetings on February 24 and March 3 to provide the public with information about the Five-Year Review process, the status of Butte-area Superfund sites, and to collect comments from the public.

At the Feb. 24 meeting at the Butte Public Library, Dr. John Ray, a Montana Tech Liberal Studies Professor, discussed what is known as the Butte Priority Soils Superfund site, which includes the urban areas of Uptown Butte. Contamination a the site includes historic mine waste, mine tailings, and residential soils and dust related to the area's mining history. Contaminants of concern include heavy metals such as lead and mercury and other toxins such as arsenic.

Ray was highly critical of EPA-led clean-up efforts in this area. Ray stated that the EPA decision to leave the "waste in place" by capping rather than removing mine waste has resulted in capped dumps that require ongoing maintenance to prevent the failure of the caps and the exposure of waste. Because of the urban nature of the area, exposed mine waste could potentially impact human health. According to Ray, the majority of mine dump caps have failed. Capping generally involves covering exposed mine waste with 18 inches of topsoil that is then seeded and monitored for erosion issues. Butte-Silver Bow county annually evaluates and repairs these caps, with the expenses paid by ARCO, the EPA mandated responsible party for the site.

Ray also criticized the EPA decision to fence-off or otherwise restrict access to many environmentally damaged sites in the Uptown, preventing local residents from accessing such areas and being exposed to wastes. Ray particularly emphasized environmental justice as an important component of any Butte clean-up, noting that the majority of those living in the Superfund area fall below the poverty line or have below-average income. Ray noted that the EPA has a mandate to consider environmental justice. EPA personnel on hand at the meeting did not agree with Ray's assessment of environmental clean-up on the Butte Hill.

(Photo above shows a capped Butte mine dump in the foreground as evaluators assess the site, and in the background uncapped mine dumps can be seen behind the fence of the Mountain Con mine yard.)

At the same meeting, Ian MacGruder, a consultant from Kirk Environmental working with CTEC, delivered a presentation about the clean-up of Silver Bow Creek, the Warm Springs Ponds, and the Westside Soils, an area to the north and west of Uptown Butte that is listed as a Superfund site due to the presence of numerous mine dumps. No action has been taken at the Westside Soils site to date. EPA considered it a low-priority because no people live in the area, though it is popular for recreation.

MacGruder discussed the success of the Silver Bow Creek restoration, which was led by the State Department of Environmental Quality in conjunction with EPA. That project has been largely successful in removing historic mine wastes from the creek bed and floodplain. The ecosystem seems to be on the road to recovery, and brook, rainbow and native west slope cutthroat trout have been reported during Fish, Wildlife and Parks annual electrofish monitoring of the once-decimated creek. Restoration of the creek is still ongoing in the Anaconda and Durant Canyon areas. (Photo above shows historic tailings deposits on Silver Bow Creek. This site, near Miles Crossing and Durant Canyon, has since been restored; the tailings pictured here now reside in the Opportunity Ponds, aka BP-ARCO Waste Repository.)

Removed Silver Bow Creek wastes are transferred by rail to the Opportunity Ponds, also known as the BP-Arco Waste Repository. The Repository, a former tailings pond for the Anaconda Reduction Works and Washoe Smelter, already holds millions of tons of historic wastes, and wastes removed from Silver Bow Creek and the Milltown site near Missoula have been transferred there, increasing the total volume of waste at the site by a few percent. (Photo above shows an aerial view of the Opportunity Ponds site, which is roughly 5 square miles. In some places, mine wastes are 40+ feet deep. The yellow color comes from the tailings themselves; they are toxic to vegetation, so few plants grow, although revegetation efforts are ongoing at the site.)

Recent data has shown that some contaminants from the Butte Hill in the form of sediments are reaching the restored Silver Bow Creek. It is likely that additional action on the Butte Hill and continued monitoring and management of contaminated Butte groundwater will alleviate this recontamination in the future. For the time being, contaminants mainly flush down the restored reach of the creek to the Warm Springs Ponds.

The Warm Springs Ponds, another former Anaconda Company waste management site, were created to capture contaminants from Silver Bow Creek, preventing them from reaching the Clark Fork River. The site has been extremely successful in that regard, and has also become an excellent habitat for waterfowl and abnormally large trout. Future plans for the management of the Warm Springs Ponds, however, are somewhat murky. There is also a lingering arsenic issue at the ponds; lime is added to Silver Bow Creek water to cause metals present in the water to settle out in the ponds by reducing the acidity of the water. This reduction in acidity has the unfortunate side effect of mobilizing arsenic, and data indicates that arsenic levels flowing out of the ponds into the Clark Fork River are higher than expected. As long as no one drinks from the Clark Fork, this should have little effect on human health, although the arsenic issue will have to be addressed in the future.

EPA Remedial Project Manager Roger Hoogerheide responded to the presentations by noting that, while in the past the Five-Year Review process has been something of a rubber-stamp formality, the current EPA administration has instructed agency personnel to treat the Five-Year Review seriously and thoroughly as a means to improve ongoing clean-up efforts.

When asked about the relative scarcity of discussions of the Five-Year Review in local media, Hoogerheide agreed that there was more the EPA could do to inform and involve the community. The ongoing citizen interviews are a large part of the EPA's increased public relations efforts on this Five-Year Review.

The Mar. 3 meeting at the Butte Chamber Visitors Center featured the same presentations, although for this meeting the Silver Bow Creek/Warm Springs Ponds presentation was delivered by Montana Tech Society and Technology Professor Pat Munday. The community discussion was somewhat more lively at this meeting. Most citizens present expressing frustration with the pace of Butte-area clean-up and the difficulty in finding answers to Superfund-related questions and in participating in area Superfund-related programs like the Multi-Pathway Residential Metals Abatement Program Plan. That program is designed to mitigate potentially harmful exposure of residents to sources of lead, arsenic, and mercury contamination. EPA personnel at the meeting again expressed a renewed commitment to public outreach to ensure that local residents are connected to and informed about ongoing clean-up efforts.

Local citizens are encouraged to comment on the clean-up of the Butte environment. Written comments can be mailed to:
Roger Hoogerheide
Remedial Project Manager EPA Montana Office
10 W. 15th St.
Helena, MT 59626

For more information on the Five-Year Review, call Wendy Thomi, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, toll free at 1-866-457-2690

(Photo above shows historic mining and smelting in the city of Butte, which accounts for the contamination we see and manage today.)

Milltown, Montana: Film Creates a Cultural Portrait of Western Montana

2010-02-23T16:07:00.008-07:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a moving picture must be worth considerably more. Judging by his latest work, I believe Rainer Komers must have taken that old adage to heart. His film Milltown, Montana takes the motion picture genre on a journey of “poetic minimalism”. What this meant became clear to me when I spoke with Rainer prior to the screening, and he mentioned that the film had no dialogue and no score. Considering my minimal exposure to "avant-garde" film, I couldn't help but be skeptical. The screening at Montana Tech attracted an audience of about 50 people, quite a few more than I was expecting.

What I noticed as I watched the film is how little I missed the traditional narration and accompanying soundtrack. Komers captures these “acoustic soundscapes” to go along with the visuals, which are greatly enhanced by his considerable acumen behind the camera thanks to his years of experience as a cinematographer. The sounds are vivid enough to capture your attention, with an abstract musicality that can be hypnotizing at times.

I found that the absence of a narrator allowed the viewer to become an impartial observer, free to draw their own conclusions as to the meaning of what they were seeing. Some of the sights I recognized throughout the film were shots of the M&M sign, The Legion Oasis, the Clark Fork Watershed, the State Prison and various snapshots of everyday life in the region. There was a billiards scene in the Legion that garnered quite a few laughs, an injection of humor I wasn't quite expecting.

In another review of the film in the Missoulian, the author seemed very upset that the film did not tell the story of Milltown in particular. As Komers explained to the audience during the Q&A session, the title is meant to be generic, to describe any region that has been through the growing pains of the industrial age. He explained this by relating a tale of coal mining in his native Germany, where the towns have similar problems with pollution and mining. My personal interpretation was that the film seemed like it was intended to be a snapshot in time, a cultural portrait with minimal bias. The film was only 30 minutes long, but managed to capture the essence of many aspects of life in Montana in that short time.

The region around Butte has the distinct privilege of having two films made about it in a short period of time. Milltown, Montana may not have the historical scope of the much acclaimed Butte, America, but it offers a more intimate portrayal of everyday life in post-industrial Montana. The two films compliment each other, one telling the story of the past, the other showing how residents deal with the repercussions of that past, from an outsiders perspective. Komers has a talent for being the outside observer, presenting a way of life without the usual editorial spin. I would consider Montana lucky to be included in his impressive body of work.

For a complete listing of Komers film work, visit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464624/

-Guest Blog by Aaron Briggs
Montana Tech Professional & Technical Communications Student

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Examines Bull Trout Habitat

2010-02-22T15:05:00.015-07:00

The bull trout is one of Montana’s most unique fish. They can grow to over three feet and can weigh over 20 pounds, and depend on cold, clear water. Bull trout are excellent indicators of water quality, and are often considered an “umbrella” species. That is, if water quality is healthy enough for bull trout, it is likely healthy enough for most other, less-sensitive aquatic species native to Montana. Their sensitivity to adverse water conditions, coupled with the competition posed by non-native fish such as the brook trout, have caused bull trout numbers to slowly decline across the northwest, and they were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1998.

On January 13, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to revise its 2005 designation of critical habitat for the bull trout. Under the ESA, critical habitat identifies geographic areas essential for the conservation of a listed species. Critical habitat designations provide extra regulatory protection to areas that may require special management considerations, and the habitats are then prioritized for recovery actions. The critical habitat designation does not affect land ownership, does not allow government or public access to private lands, and does not impose restrictions on non-federal lands unless federal funds, permits or activities are involved. However, it alerts landowners that these areas are important to the recovery of the species. In the Clark Fork Basin, as restoration continues on mining-impacted ecosystems, maintaining quality bull trout habitat can be seen as a final hurdle; if bull trout return to some of the historically damaged areas of the Clark Fork watershed, then we can safely assume that restoration efforts are succeeding.

In total, the Service proposes to designate approximately 22,679 miles of streams and 533,426 acres of lakes and reservoirs in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Nevada as critical habitat for the wide-ranging bull trout. The proposed revision comes after extensive review of earlier critical habitat proposals and public comments. The Service voluntarily embarked on this re-examination to ensure that the best science was used to identify the features and areas essential to the conservation of the species.

In Montana, additional bull trout critical habitat is proposed for the Kootenai, Clark Fork and St. Mary River Basins. Under the 2010 proposal, most tributaries of the Blackfoot River, Flint Creek and the Clark Fork River would be considered critical bull trout habitat. Most of the Blackfoot, as well as sections of Flint Creek and the Clark Fork, were previously designated as critical bull trout habitat in 2005.

The Clark Fork and Flathead watersheds were historically important to bull trout prior to the heavy impacts caused by human developments such as hydroelectric dams, other manmade barriers, and historic mining. Today, those river systems are being reconnected through dam removal (Milltown Dam), improved fish passage (Cabinet Gorge, Noxon Rapids, Thompson Falls), and improved habitat (Clark Fork restoration projects). The Clark Fork River is particularly important, as it provides a migratory corridor for bull trout from Lake Pend Oreille and the lower river to access the Blackfoot, Rock Creek, and potentially Flint and Warm Springs Creeks, where significant populations of bull trout remain.

To do our part to help bull trout recover, anyone fishing in western Montana should repeat the mantra: No Black, Put It Back! Bull trout are most easily distinguished from other Montana trout by their top fin; unlike other trout, the bull trout have no black spots on their top fin. They are also characterized by a slightly forked tail and pale yellow, orange and red spots on the body. As a threatened species, bull trout should be released immediately if caught. To assist in identifying Montana trout, CFWEP, Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks, the Sierra Club, and the University of Montana distribute free pocket fish ID guides. Contact CFWEP for your free guide before heading out on the river.

The Service will accept public comments on the proposed critical habitat until March 15, 2010. For information on how to submit a public comment, and for more on the proposed critical habitat designation, visit www.fws.gov/pacific/bulltrout. For a direct link to a map comparing existing bull trout critical habitat with proposed 2010 habitat, click here. You can learn more about bull trout in Montana at the Montana Field Guide from mt.gov.

The above map shows bull trout range in Montana.

The above map shows bull trout density in Montana.

Volunteers Needed for 2010 Spring Field Season

2010-02-10T09:41:00.004-07:00

CFWEP is seeking volunteers for spring field trips running from March 2 through June 1, 2010. Volunteers provide support on field trips with middle and high school students and teachers. Volunteering requires no previous experience (CFWEP will provide field science training), it is a great way to learn about the Montana outdoors and the restoration of the Clark Fork Basin, and you will be helping future generations to become stewards of western Montana's amazing environment.

For a complete list of spring volunteer opportunities, click here to view the full schedule (MS Excel format). To register as a volunteer, or to learn more, contact CFWEP Field Coordinator Dr. Arlene Alvarado at aalvarado@mtech.edu or call (406) 496-4862.

CFWEP Dives into 4-H Fun Day in Deer Lodge

2009-12-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, October 15, over 60 students from seven Montana counties convened at Powell County High School in Deer Lodge for the annual 4-H Fun Day, and Lorna McIntyre and Matt Vincent were on hand to bring kids face-to-face with some of Montana’s water bugs. The Fun Day also offered classes on Hemp Necklaces, Dutch Oven Cooking, Let’s Look for Birds, Gold Panning, and No Bake Treats.

At the CFWEP class, kids of varying ages collected water bugs from Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of the Clark Fork River that flows into Deer Lodge from the Flint Mountains. Matt chatted with the kids about how scientists use aquatic insects as an indicator of stream health. After that, students put on rubber boots and headed to the creek to explore the different sampling methods used to collect the “macroinvertebrates”, or macros, as they are known is scientific circles.

The students’ ability to notice differences in macro morphology, or physical appearance, is the first step in understanding biological diversity. They identified many different types of aquatic macroinvertebrates, such as mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies and even planaria, a type of flatworm that can be tricky to properly identify.

The kids came away with a better understanding of the concept of biological diversity, and they had a blast finding and categorizing some of Montana’s smaller wildlife.

-Lorna McIntyre

Big Day on the Big Hole River

2009-11-24T10:58:00.003-07:00

Photo Above: Dr. Michelle Anderson helps students use scientific tests to assess the water quality of the Big Hole River.

On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, the Big Hole Watershed had its first Big Hole River Youth Field Day. Jami Murdoch, the Big Hole River Foundation’s Outreach Coordinator, and CFWEP co-organized the event, introducing the students of the Big Hole Valley to water education by sharing hands-on, place-based, scientific knowledge of their watershed.

Throughout the day, students traveled through six stations. Each station’s focus had a direct connection to the Big Hole. In “A River Runs Through It”, students took a hand in mapping their watershed as they explored the run of the Big Hole River and its tributaries.

At “The Grass Isn’t Always Greener”, students learned the importance of a diverse plant community and the effect of noxious weed to the watershed. “What is ‘High Quality H2O’?” found students, assisted by Dr. Michelle Anderson from UM-Western, performing sophisticated scientific tests on water samples from the river to determine what water quality parameters are necessary for a healthy river.

At “A Bug’s World”, students interacted with aquatic insects to learn the importance of the variety of stream bugs in the river. The station also tied into the Big Hole River’s salmonfly hatch that draws anglers from around the globe, an important source of money for the local economy.

“Something Fishy” focused on the different fish of the Big Hole, particularly the fluvial, or river-dwelling, arctic grayling, whose numbers have dwindled in recent decades. Finally, at the charmingly titled “I Eat, Therefore I Puke”, Dr. Amy Kuenzi from Montana Tech helped students investigate one of the Big Hole’s avian residents, the owl, and its need for mature cottonwood forest to provide habitat for the critters it eats.

Photo Above: Students learn about the types of food on the menu for owls with assistance from Dr. Amy Kuenzi.

The Big Hole Youth Field Day was only possible thanks to the immense support of a dedicated group of volunteers from around western Montana. A special thanks goes out to Insty Prints of Butte, who gave us a sweet deal on the Big Hole River Watershed Passports used for this event.

-Lorna McIntyre

Mining the Highlands

2009-11-23T12:51:00.005-07:00

While Montana’s wide-open mountain vistas, relatively undisturbed wildlife habitat and peaceful, windy quietude have risen among the top of the state’s golden treasures, there is still plenty of interest in the kind of gold currently fetching over $1,000 per ounce on the worldwide metals market. Just 15 miles south of Butte in the heart of the Highlands Mountains, Timberline Resources is making way for a new, 750,000+ ounce underground gold mine. The Idaho-based newcomer to the mining industry began laying the groundwork in August for what the corporation hopes to be a 10-year project that could employ up to 100 workers. Timberline stock (TLR) began trading on the NYSE back in May and has sold just shy of 36 million shares of its 44.5 million cap, trading most recently at $1.24.

So how does a mine that could employ 100 people and that has sold over 35 million shares on Wall Street go relatively unheard of in a mining community of 30,000 people just miles away? Timberline began working in August and has been progressively forging ahead ever since under an amended exploration permit and a small mine exemption, both granted by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s Hard Rock Mining division. Neither of these processes require an official public comment period or a full-scale environmental impact study. Timberline presented the project to the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners in May and most recently in October at the National Summit of Mining Communities in Butte.

This project has a lot of costs and benefits for The Mining City and the surrounding areas that will need to be weighed by our citizens prior to the commencement of full-scale operation, as awakening community awareness has just recently begun to pique public interest. According to Timberline’s website (http://www.timberline-resources.com/) the mine properties consist of approximately 1,100 privately-owned acres situated along the Continental Divide at the headwaters of Basin (Upper Clark Fork Watershed/Butte drinking water supply), Fish (Jefferson River Watershed) and Moose (Big Hole River Watershed) Creeks. Under the current exploration and small mine development permits, approximately 50 acres will be disturbed at the site, over one-mile of underground tunnel dug and a 10,000 ton “bulk sample” collected over the next year. The ore is approximately 0.27 ounces of gold per ton. For more information, visit the Timberline Resources website above, or contact Robert Crohnholm with the DEQ at (406) 444-4330.

-Matt Vincent

Southwest Montana Science Partnership Going Strong

2009-11-13T14:49:00.005-07:00

Photo Above: Teachers investigate acid drainage at the former Calliope Mine site. The orange-red color of the water at the site is due to a high iron content. When exposed to water, the mine waste at the site renders the water acidic due to a high sulfur content. The acidic water then dissolves metals present in wastes.

The Southwest Montana Science Partnership (SMSP) project partners are pleased to announce the addition of Dr. John Graves to our leadership team. Dr. Graves currently leads the Montana State University Science Education Masters’ Program, and Dr. Graves has over thirty years of middle school teaching experience. He brings a strong focus on inquiry pedagogy skills as well as a keen ability to help teachers and faculty connect online through meaningful and engaging discussions.

Photo Above: SMSP teachers look on while Dr. David Hobbs from Montana Tech demonstrates the conductive properties of water.

The first cohort of teachers, who started SMSP courses in January 2009, is rolling right along. Teachers completed a water workshop in September and learned about the unique properties of water and how to monitor local streams. At the workshop, teachers explored two sites for field study, one highly impacted by mine waste water and the other impacted by a sewage treatment facility. The teachers discovered that watersheds can be impacted in many different ways and were quite excited to start exploring water near their area schools. Teachers were given World Water Monitoring kits to use with their students back at their schools, which was greatly appreciated, as school budgets are frequently too tight to afford testing equipment.

Photo Above: Science is not without its hazards. A misstep caused one SMSP teacher to slip in swampy mine waste up above her knee. No need to worry- a one-time exposure such as this is unlikely to cause any ill effects. Mining contamination is generally only harmful to human health after long-term, chronic exposure.

The teachers and their students will upload their site monitoring data into the World Water Monitoring database to be shared with teachers and students around the world.

The second cohort of thirty teachers will begin their study in January 2010 with the field mapping module. In addition, principals from our partner schools will be invited to attend the Principal’s/Leadership workshop in February. The addition of thirty teachers in cohort II and all participating principals will bring the total number of SMSP participants to over seventy. The project partners will be very busy indeed!

The SMSP project is funded by a ESEA, Title II Part B Mathematics and Science Partnership Grant through the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

-Rayelynn Connole, CFWEP Curriculum Coordinator

Catching Up with EcoDaredevil Award Winner Kathleen Kennedy

2009-11-12T10:27:00.007-07:00

Kathleen Kennedy is one of two 2009 winners of the EcoDaredevil award, which honors those who are taking risks to promote conservation and environmental sustainability. Kathleen, a Missoula high school biology teacher, was admonished by her own school board for showing "The Story of Stuff," a popular film about the environmental costs of rampant consumerism, but Kathleen persisted. Kathleen took time away from her busy teaching schedule to provide the following update on life since receiving the EcoDaredevil award in September.

Photo above: Kathleen's EcoDaredevil award helmet, complete with a signature from singer Eddie Vedder.

Receiving an EcoDaredevil award has been a really fun and inspiring experience. Thinking about Evel Knievel trying stunts and then dusting himself off and trying again when things didn’t go as planned reminds me of the resilience that I have had to bring forth since my ordeal began. Comparing myself to Evel of course also makes me laugh—something I didn’t do much last year!

The award has given me a light-hearted way to discuss controversy and polarization with my students. Ironically, the controversy about the Story of Stuff as an educational video reached a new level just shortly after the EcoDaredevil awards ceremony. After being informed by one of his “watchdogs”, Glenn Beck of Fox News discussed the film and its use in classrooms on his program and incited his viewers to complain to their school boards. The Story of Stuff blog was filled with outrageous reactions. Having Glenn Beck challenge the Story of Stuff is yet another validation of the film’s important message and renews my resolve to ensure that students are given opportunities for critical thinking in my classroom.

On a funny note, I brought my EcoDaredevil helmet with me to Pearl Jam’s concert near Portland, OR in September with the plan to have the band’s bassist, Montana native Jeff Ament, with whom I had shared my story, sign it. To my surprise the entire band signed the helmet. I got to have a nice chat with Jeff before the show that included me giving him his own EcoDaredevil sticker! Interestingly, Eddie Vedder signed “with Love & Respect” and drew a picture of a wave, which makes me wonder if he is aware of the Great Turning (visit http://www.thegreatturning.net/ for more info).

Photo above: Kathleen with Pearl Jam bassist and Montana native Jeff Ament, an EcoDaredevil supporter.

My school year is going really well so far and I think this award allowed me to put things in perspective and go forth! Thanks for recognizing the role that educators have in helping us jump the chasm to sustainability.

For more information on the EcoDaredevil award, visit ecodaredevil.blogspot.com. For more on the Story of Stuff, visit http://www.storyofstuff.com/.

-Kathleen Kennedy

CFWEP's Fall Season Wrap-Up

2009-11-09T11:54:00.006-07:00

Hi there!
My name is Marisol and this is my first of hopefully many contributions to this blog. I graduated in May of 2009 from Binghamton University in NY with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies. I am taking some time off to work, be an americorps volunteer, and to hopefully get a better feel for what I would like to pursue in graduate school. I am very excited to be a part of CFWEP and I look forward to meeting everyone else who is also involved with the organization. I had a lot of fun and learned SO much during the fall season. Below is the wrap-up that I wrote for the CFWEP newsletter. Hope you enjoy it!

Photo Above: A panoramic view of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork River confluence before the dam was removed.

The fall season started off in September with Hellgate Middle School, followed by Lewis and Clark Elementary, Bonner School, and St. Joseph’s Elementary School. The students spent three days in the classroom with guest lecturers who provided a concise overview of current and historic circumstances surrounding the Milltown Dam and its removal.

The first lecture providesd an overview of the idea of watershed health, and a history of the Milltown Dam and of mining in Butte. It aimsed to create a well-rounded understanding of the circumstances that led to the building of the dam and the role that Butte played at such a pivotal time in American history.

The second lecture givesave a more in depth look at the numerous environmental hazards that have resulted from mining, which have affected not only Butte and its residents but all those who live downstream on the Clark Fork. This lecture also discussesd why the dam was removed and the related environmental impacts, both short- and long-term.

The third and final lecture discussesd the concept of parameters and readiesd students to go out into the field to conduct their own scientific assessments and comparisons of sites on the Blackfoot River, upstream of the dam, and on the Clark Fork River, downstream of the dam. These assessments included diversity in macroinvertebrate populations, riparian vegetation, pebble counts, and water chemistry, all as indicators of water quality and ecosystem health.

The data that the students collected was valuable to their own understanding of ecosystem and watershed health and succeeded in introducing many of them to the scientific process. Because there are real and on-going issues surrounding the pollution of the Clark Fork, a river in which many of them play and fish, it is a great way to help them to think critically about pollution and the importance of keeping their rivers clean.

Photo Above: Doug Martin from the NRDP talks about the restoration of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot River confluence with local students.

As an Americorps volunteer I had a great time interacting with the students and very much appreciated what came to be a crash course in the history of Butte in America, the impacts of mining on people and the environment, and in the many ways that citizen science can aid professionals in their work.

It was after the data was collected and the students were gathered around to look at the results more closely that I noticed how attentive they were. It was as if a lightbulb would go off in their heads as their compared pebble counts to better understand areas of erosion versus those of deposition, or the conductivity of the water affected by the mine waste versus that which had not. When these results were brought back to them in ways in which they were truly understood, like why barely anything can live in water affected by acid rock drainage being the equivalent ofis similar to why nobody would want to soak in a bath of lemon juice, it was evident that they got the point of what we were teaching them by the great questions they came up with. Some of them were very simple questions that, in true kid-manner, really got at the heart of the matter. Unfortunately a lot of the time it would be difficult to simplify what often turned into a complex explanation.
That, I think, is one of the best challenges of working with kids. There is no better test of your understanding of a complex issue than if you can simplify it enough to make it make sense to a class of 5th graders. So I thank them for the challenge because it helps me to really get down to the heart of the matter and to contemplate some of the really difficult questions.

CFWEP would like to send out a thank you to all of the teachers, students, and parent chaperones that participated in making this season a great success. We would especially like to thank everyone at St. Joseph’s who came out on the last, very cold and frozen field trip in October when it snowed. We had a real bunch of troopers!

Freezout Lake Lake's Spring Snow Goose Migration

2009-11-06T12:11:00.012-07:00

It is a bit late for this blog/article/crappy journalism, but hey . . . better late than never! So here it goes, my first blog . . .

On April 4, 2009, my sister and went traveling north to Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area near Fairfiled, MT. There is an incredible event that happens here every spring: the migration of the snow goose. Around 100,000 plus snow geese use this lake and its surronding series of ponds as a "rest stop" as they fly north to their summer feeding grounds. These geese fly from their southern wintering grounds (California, Baja and Mexico) up the "Pacific Flyway", a major north-south migratory route for birds. Freezout Lake happens to be on this route. The geese fatten up on the spent grain in the surrounding farm fields. After a couple of days, they head north to nest in either Hudson Bay, Alaska or Russia.

The geese leave the lake in the morning to feed in the fields. Around 10am, the geese return to water for a bit R & R. Around 5pm, the geese take off to the fields to feed again, returning back to the safety of the lake before dark. For me, it is the take-off from the water and the returning to the water that is the most spectacular. When one flock leaves to feed, a couple other flocks may head out with them. A wall of white leaving the water. When it is time to return to the water, many flocks dot the sky with a check-mark like pattern. The flocks will merge high above the lake, then swirl down to the water.

So enough blah, blah, blah. It's time to see some pictures and a little video, poorly narrated by my sister and I.

Fall Field Season Update

2009-11-05T13:18:00.005-07:00

Photo Above: Students from East Middle School measure water chemistry on the banks of restored Silver Bow Creek just west of Butte.

Around the Clark Fork, our Fall school middle school visits are in full swing. We started in September at Drummond School and just completed our East Middle School visits in late October on the icy banks of Silver Bow Creek. Our last trip for the season is Butte Central High School in November.

We recently revised our curriculum in order to expand our history and bioindicator lessons, as well as give students more opportunity to practice field techniques and become comfortable with our new datasheets. We have also included additional activities to engage students in the classroom. New activities include making a watershed using paper, markers and water in order to visualize how water flows within a watershed. Another activity that is very effective in helping students with the field component is an in-class review of how to correctly identify vegetation structure (ground cover, understory and overstory) and how to identify aquatic macroinvertebrates. Finally, the in-class field practice has been expanded to include a practice vegetation assessment in addition to practice with GLX water quality meters.

Photo Above: Lorna McIntyre from CFWEP assists students in identifying the riparian vegetation of Silver Bow Creek.

CFWEP teachers around the Basin have responded enthusiastically to the revised curriculum. Most importantly, the students appear to enjoy the expanded activities. Students also seem to conduct their field trip data collection with more confidence. It is quite rewarding to hear the students using scientific terminology when discussing their field observations and experience.

Photo Above: CFWEP’s Arlene Alvarado helps students collect and identify stream insects in order to assess the health of Silver Bow Creek.

Before we know it, the Spring field trip season will be upon us. If you are interested in volunteering for a Spring field trip, contact Arlene Alvarado, CFWEP Field Coordinator, at (406) 496-4862 or aalvarado@mtech.edu for a full schedule of volunteer opportunities.

Go CFWEP!

-Arlene Alvarado, CFWEP Field Coordinator

2009 Blackfoot Youth Field Day: Transportation on the Clearwater

2009-10-26T16:19:00.004-06:00

The Blackfoot Challenge sponsored its 9th Annual Youth Field Day on September 23, 2009. At the Harper’s Lake Fishing Access on the Clearwater River, just upstream from its confluence with the Blackfoot River, over 100 fourth through sixth grade students from all over the Blackfoot Watershed came together for a day of outdoor education.

Photo Above: In the Water Droplet Journey game, students flip a “dice” high into the air. The result will tell them where to go next in the water cycle.

Youth Field Days engage local students in their watershed, while addressing topics from natural resource issues to community sustainability. The topic for this year was Transportation, and students tackled the issue through stations on Seed Dispersal, Navigation, Mule Packing, Water Droplet Journey, and Journaling.

Photo Above: Students practice their observational skills before journaling on the banks of the Clearwater River.

CFWEP Curriculum Coordinator Rayelynn Connole led the Journaling station, where students learned to describe nature in their watershed, just as Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery observed and documented the American northwest. CFWEP AmeriCorps VISTA Lorna McIntyre and Janel Evans, Montana Tech AmeriCorps Team Leader, immersed students in the water cycle through the Water Droplet Journey game. Playing the role of a drop of water, students learn the varying pathways a water molecule can take through the water cycle. By learning only a small amount of water is available for human use, student gain a greater appreciation for their watershed and the value of clean, healthy water. And in the Blackfoot Valley, clean water and watershed stewardship will maintain the natural beauty of the Blackfoot River ecosystem well into the future.

For more information on our partners at the Blackfoot Challenge, visit http://www.blackfootchallenge.org/.

-CFWEP VISTA Lorna McIntyre

Science Cafe: The Science of the Berkeley Pit

2009-10-26T14:12:00.008-06:00

To someone driving through Butte, Montana for the first time, one image dominates the landscape: the expanse of the Berkeley Pit to the north. The Pit extends 1700 feet from the top of the rim near the old Bell-Diamond Mine to the bottom of the over 40 billion gallons of acidic water that make up the slowly rising Pit Lake.

The sheer magnitude of the site, a functioning mine from 1955 until 1982, is enough to draw attention. But the environmental science underlying the Berkeley is the real cause for interest.

From the early days of underground mining in Butte, the hill has been dewatered by underground pumps. Those pumps ran continuously from the late 1800s until 1982. When economic conditions forced the Berkeley Pit to close, ARCO, the parent company of the Berkeley, decided to shut off those underground pumps.

The result is the Berkeley Pit Lake we see today. Without the pumps to keep the thousands of miles of tunnels beneath the Butte Hill dry, surface runoff and seeping groundwater began to accumulate, eventually reaching the bottom of the Pit. Throughout the 80s and 90s, the water level in the Pit continued to rise, and today the Pit Lake is over 1000 feet deep.

The water in the Pit is highly acidic, with a pH of about 2.5. A process called Acid Rock or Acid Mine Drainage is the culprit. Not all of the rock extracted from the Butte Hill and the Berkeley is valuable. A high percentage is waste rock, and a considerable amount of waste rock still sits behind the Berkeley to the north and east.

Rock from the Butte ore body is high in sulfur, mainly in the form of iron pyrite or fool’s gold. When exposed to air and water, the iron pyrite is oxidized. Mixed with surface and ground water, the sulfur increases the acidity of the water. This increased acidity, in turn, causes the other metals present in the rock, such as copper, lead, cadmium, and zinc, to dissolve into the water.

In the case of the eastern slope of the Butte Hill, all of this Acid Rock Drainage water flows, either over the surface or through a natural cone of depression in the ground water table, into the Berkeley Pit Lake. In this way, the Berkeley is not all bad: the collection of acid water there prevents it from spreading elsewhere where it could potentially impact the Butte valley or, just downstream, the Clark Fork River.

While the Berkeley water is certainly toxic, it is not as deadly as some suppose. The acidity of the Pit, with a pH of 2.5, is about the same as the acidity of your favorite soft drink. In other words, the Pit water is not going to instantly dissolve anything that touches it. There have been incidents of bird deaths in the Pit resulting from birds drinking and swimming in the Pit water continuously for more than a day. Today, hazing activities prevent birds from spending too much time in the Berkeley.

The main human health risk from the Berkeley involves the possibility that the water level may some day rise high enough to infiltrate into surrounding ground water aquifers. Such an occurrence could potentially contaminate drinking water wells, or contaminate ground and surface water downstream.

The critical water level at which Berkeley water could spread out from the Pit is 5410 feet above sea level. The surface of the Pit Lake currently sits at 5282 feet above sea level. As the water level rises only a few feet each year, that leaves a lot of time before the critical level is approached. Current projections estimate that the Pit Lake will near the critical level some time after 2023.

A strategy is already in place to manage the Pit water when that time comes. In 2003, construction was completed on the Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment Plant on the northeast rim of the Pit (as pictured below). Already tested and used in Montana Resources nearby mining operations, the Treatment Plant will pump and treat the Berkeley Pit water before it reaches the critical level.

The water is treated by adding materials, primarily lime rock, that reduce the acidity. As the acidity decreases, the metals and other toxins dissolved in the water settle out in a solid “sludge.” This leftover sludge will be dumped into the Pit, in effect, backfilling it very slowly. Treated, clean Pit water will be used in Montana Resources mining operations or discharged into nearby Silver Bow Creek (pictured below just downstream and to the west of Butte and the Berkeley).

While the visual and scientific spectacle of the Pit is essential to our current understanding of it, the most important legacy of the Berkeley cannot be seen at the Pit itself. Over 300 million tons of ore came out of the Berkeley, and the copper from that ore gave electricity and light and development to the U.S. and beyond. The next time you flip on an electric light in the middle of the night, take a second to remember the Berkeley Pit, and the true cost of the development we enjoy and often take for granted today.

Want to learn more about the Berkeley Pit, past, present, and future, as well as other environmental reclamation projects around the Butte area? Join Justin Ringsak for a Clark Fork Watershed Education Program Science Café discussion on the Berkeley Pit on Friday, Oct. 30 from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. at the Venus Rising Espresso House, corner of Park and Main in uptown Butte.

2009 EcoDaredevil Award: Call For Nominations

2009-08-06T09:48:00.000-06:00

Attention: The deadline for the 2009 EcoDaredevil Award has been extended through September, 2009.

BUTTE, MT – The first annual EcoDaredevil Award was presented on Earth Day 2008 at Duke University in Durham, NC. On World Ocean Day, June 8th, 2009 we proudly announce our call for nominations for the second-annual EcoDaredevil Award. This year we will honor an EcoDaredevil from the legendary Evel Knievel's home state of Montana, with an award presentation on the campus of Montana Tech in September 2009. Nominations must be received by August 1, 2009. The 2009 EcoDaredevil winner will receive a cash award and other “green” prizes.

The first annual EcoDaredevil Award was presented to Duke doctoral student Elliott Hazen. An honorary award was also presented to Krysten Knievel, granddaughter of Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel, in recognition of Evel's inspiration for the EcoDaredevil Award. Mr. Hazen was one of the co-founders of GreenWave, a student-led sustainability movement at the Duke Marine Lab. He also instituted a Green by Design class at the Marine Lab bringing in all sorts of experts from business, fisheries etc. to come and chat about sustainability.

The 2009 award winner will be chosen by 1) a selection committee of nationally and regionally recognized environmental scientists and activists who will review all nominations; 2) peers via an on-line voting system. The 2009 EcoDaredevil Award will be announced in a ceremony at Montana Tech on Friday, September 18th on World Water Monitoring Day, an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies.

2009 Nominees must meet the following criteria:

- Be from the State of Montana;

- Age 18 to 35, or a recently (graduated this spring or enrolled for this fall) enrolled/graduated college (grad or undergrad) student;

-Has exceptionally fulfilled the core characteristics of what the EcoDaredevil Award signifies: courage, creativity and success (even failure if they’re back up and trying) in positively impacting environmental change through science, action, policy or the arts.

-Nominee must be nominated by a faculty member, researcher, student, peer or other member of the local, regional, national or international environmental community.

-Please submit nominations via email to EcoDaredevil@me.com by August 1, 2009. Please include the following information in your nomination, electronic submissions only (sent to EcoDaredevil@me.com ):

Name

Age

Location/hometown

Year in school/college/major

An explanation of why the nominee is an EcoDaredevil (maximum of three, single-spaced, 12-point font pages)

At least two letters/emails of recommendation/support – one from a faculty/teacher; one from a student/peer; and/or one from a member of the community (state, local or other).

Supplements/supporting materials may include web links, articles, images of nominee's accomplishments, etc.

Entries will be judged upon 1) innovation/creativity of nominee's actions/accomplishments; 2) courage of nominee to perform in the face of adversity (i.e. difficulty of achievement exhibited by numbers, required time/timeliness, social/economic/political climate, etc.); 3) significance of nominee's impact on environmental change (sustainability and/or size of outcome(s); number of people affected, policies changed/implemented, honors received); 4) exceptional character exhibited by the nominee. [Note: In order to save your nomination, prepare the nomination with Word, pdf and submit as an attachment.]

Read more about the EcoDaredevil award at the EcoDaredevil blog: http://ecodaredevil.blogspot.com/.

CFWEP Restoration & Education Newsletter: July 2009

2009-06-30T10:42:00.001-06:00

The latest edition of CFWEP's Restoration & Education Newsletter is now available online (pdf format). Go to cfwep.org to download it and hear all the latest and greatest from up and down the Clark Fork Basin.

Now Accepting Applications for the River Rat Flyfishing Camp in August

2009-06-12T11:30:00.002-06:00

CFWEP and the George Grant chapter of Trout Unlimited are teaming up to offer a week-long fly fishing camp for are students in August. Download the full application packet for complete camp details:
River Rat Flyfishing Camp Application (pdf)
River Rat Flyfishing Camp Application (doc)
Email any questions to Matt at mvincent@mtech.edu.
We'll see you on the river!

Guest Blog: The World Needs Some EcoDaredevils by Wallace J. Nichols, PhD

2009-06-08T10:00:00.004-06:00

Back in the 1970s, many of us idolized Evel Knievel. He was a rock star, sports hero and folk legend in one. He was both a daredevil and a cool character. Back then, his jumps over buses, fountains and canyons inspired us to launch our bicycles into the air and over puddles, mounds of dirt and hapless friends.

Now, we find new inspiration in our childhood hero.

In 1961 Robert Craig Knievel, long before “Evel” became a household name, hitchhiked through the dead of winter from Butte to our nation’s capital to protest the culling of elk in Yellowstone National Park. He lugged the rack of a massive bull elk along as a gift. It dominated the White House office of Mike Manatos, assistant to John F. Kennedy.
The administration responded and many elk were saved via implementation of a transplant system.

Half a century later our country and our world face ever more serious environmental crises — loss of biodiversity, a warming planet, collapsing fisheries, looming food and water shortages for billions of people and the realization that our pollution has reached nearly every corner. Scientists forecast the 2050 Scenario as the convergence of a hotter, dirtier, more overcrowded Earth where nature will have been forgotten by most of the nine billion inhabitants who fight in violent wars for what’s left.

Jumping that chasm is the greatest challenge we have ever faced.
Waiting until later is foolish at best and disastrous at worst.

Solving the biggest problems we face will require the most revolutionarily of changes in society and technology, rather than incremental steps.

We must be brave, creative and outspoken enough to challenge the status quo in our respective industries, departments and neighborhoods. We must undertake the audacious, impossible and dangerous. We must risk financial, social and physical pain.

In other words, we must be EcoDaredevils.

EcoDaredevils are everywhere. They are musicians, inventors, investors, scientists, activists, engineers, students, artists and entrepreneurs. They are debating, creating, evolving — sometimes crashing — and always coming back for more.

Two Texas women cleaned up their beach and inspired the International Coastal Cleanup, a global volunteer movement a half a million strong.
Virgin Atlantic billionaire Sir Richard Branson is greening the aviation industry. Feliciano dos Santos campaigns for clean water in Africa with powerful music. In San Francisco, architect Renzo Piano designed the giant new roof of the California Academy of Sciences as a native meadow with solar panels. In Mexico, WaterKeeper Julio Solis drag races in Baja fishing villages to raise awareness of the ocean crisis.

Changing our light bulbs, inflating our tires and bringing our own bags are all important. But let’s be clear: it’s going to take actions far more thrilling and substantive for us to make it over this canyon.

For some, speaking up boldly about energy efficiency at the office is a risky bet. For others it may be a massive transformation to “green” their household. Others may undertake bolder actions at higher stakes. The point is to do something for the planet that feels like risk and derring-do — to you.

They say that Evel Knievel broke many, many bones, many times. But he kept on jumping his motorcycle through the air. “A man can fall many times, but he’s never a failure unless he refuses to get up,” is chiseled on Knievel’s headstone. He represented a combination of steely will, toughness, creativity and tenacity that enthralled me as an eight year old and still does.

Look inside yourself and grab a hold of your inner EcoDaredevil. Strap on your helmet, your red, white and blue leathers, and let’s go for a ride.

Nominate an EcoDaredevil for our 2009 Award.

For more on EcoDaredevil founder Wallace J. Nichols, visit www.wallacejnichols.org.

2009-2010 Positions with the Milltown Dam Education Program in Missoula, MT

2009-05-21T12:06:00.001-06:00

CFWEP is accepting applications for 2009-2010 positions with the Milltown Dam Education Program (MDEP) based in Missoula. For full details on available positions, download position descriptions:
Milltown Dam Education Program (MDEP) Position Descriptions (pdf)
Milltown Dam Education Program (MDEP) Position Descriptions (doc)

Summer Campus Corps Position with CFWEP

2009-05-04T14:13:00.002-06:00

CFWEP is looking for a paid summer intern! For full details on the position, click here (pdf).

CFWEP Students Win BIGAt High School State Science Fair

2009-04-21T14:10:00.006-06:00

Inadvertently left out of the last Restoration and Education Newsletter issue were Butte High science fair superstars, Chris Doyle and Danielle Bay. The two senior Bulldogs have worked the past two years radio-tracking a herd of transplanted bighorn sheep in The Highlands mountains south of Butte. The team won top honors in their category at both the Southwest Montana Regional and Montana State Science fairs. These gold medals advance Doyle and Bay to the International Science & Engineering Fair, to be held in Reno, NV later this month (we'll keep you posted on how they fare!).

Following is a guest blog written by their equally all-star studded scientist mentor, FWP biologist Vanna Boccadorri. The project has been a huge success due to the above-and-beyond efforts of Boccadori, not to mention very key support from the International Elecrical and Electronics Enigneers (IEEE) Butte Chapter and the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS). Thanks to all and CONGRATULATIONS, CHRIS AND DANIELLE...and VANNA!

KEEPING SHEEP AND KIDS ON THE MOUNTAIN:
A Tale From the Highlands Bighorn Sheep Herd
By
Vanna Boccadori
Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks

“Once upon a time in a land not so far away, there were some bighorn sheep wearing radio collars that were transplanted to the Highland Mountains, south of Butte, MT….”. Okay, while this is not a fairy tale, it is a story with a happy ending.

Four years ago I became the Butte Area Wildlife Biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. In addition to managing the wildlife in one of the most beautiful corners of Montana, I was also handed the responsibility of managing the Highlands bighorn sheep herd, whose range included the Highlands and East Pioneer Mountains. The Highlands herd, as it is popularly known, was once a thriving population of bighorn sheep known for its abundance of trophy rams. Unfortunately, in the mid 1990’s, the herd suffered an all-age die-off that left less than one hundred surviving individuals. Since then, the herd has struggled to rebuild itself.

In an effort to help the population along, the management decision was made to relocate sheep to the Highlands. In February 2007, seventeen bighorn sheep were transplanted from the Ruby Mountains and in January 2008, sixty-five sheep were transplanted from the Sun River herd. Amongst these, radio collars were placed on twenty-five adult ewes so that their post-release movements could be monitored. A big thanks to Montana FNAWS for funding a portion of the collars as well as some of the capture expense (along with the National FNAWS and several other state chapters).

After the first transplant, an article appeared in the local paper describing the event, including mention of the fact that some of the sheep were radio-collared so that they could be tracked. Enter Matt Vincent, director of the Clark Fork Watershed Educational Program (CFWEP). CFWEP is a nonprofit, place-based, hands-on science program for local school kids aimed at instilling an understanding and appreciation of their local environment.

Matt stopped by my office after reading the article and asked if there was a way to involve local high school kids in tracking the sheep. Sounded reasonable to me – more eyes and ears out there checking on the sheep, plus fresher legs than mine climbing up and down mountains in search of those nimble critters. It didn’t take much effort to recruit more than a dozen high school students and several of their science teachers to sign up for what quickly became known simply as “The Sheep Project”. So in March 2007, I and wildlife manager Kurt Alt spent a day in the field training the students and their teachers how to track the radio-collared sheep using telemetry equipment, how to map sheep locations on topographical maps, and how to collect group composition and habitat data.

The students were then organized into groups, with teachers, CFWEP staff, myself, an FWP wildlife technician, and occasionally parents, serving as chaperones. Each weekend, a group of volunteer trackers would grab the box of tracking supplies from my office and head to the hills, tracking sheep and gathering useful data.

Over the past two years, the students and chaperones have logged more than 150 tracker days, more than 20 students spent at least one day in the field tracking sheep, more than half of those students stayed involved with the project for at least one year, and four students stayed involved for both years of the project. Three of these student trackers went on to get seasonal employment with FWP and several of them helped me at check stations in the fall.

Two Butte High students, Danielle Bay and Chris Doyle, who have been with the project since its beginning, when they were sophomores, asked if they could use the data we’d been collecting to put together a project for Science Fair. So this past winter, I worked with Chris and Danielle, now seniors, to compile and analyze the bighorn sheep data in order to address the hypotheses of their study. The result was a 40-page report and a knock-out display board that earned them not only first place at both the regional and state level, but also garnered them scholarship money and the grand prize of an all-expense paid trip to Reno, NV in May to compete at the national Science Fair.

Overall, The Sheep Project has been a successful endeavor in that much more monitoring of the sheep occurred than if I was doing it myself, and several local students and teachers now have a much greater awareness of bighorn sheep and are likely to keep this interest for their lifetime and share it with others. I owe a sincere thanks to all the volunteers on the project, Matt Vincent and his CFWEP staff, FWP folks who helped out, and the MT-FNAWS Board, especially Casey Johnston!

Montana Chapter FNAWS has been incredibly supportive of the Highlands Sheep Project and the involvement with the students. They invited Chris and Danielle to present their study at the annual banquet in Bozeman this past March, and generously allowed me to auction off a day in the field tracking sheep with the students, with 100% of the bid to go directly back to this project. Even more generous, MT-FNAWS matched the high bid of $450 (paid by an equally generous couple from Colstrip) so now there is $900 earmarked for the continuation of the Sheep Project. This money will go towards reimbursing the students for gas money for their vehicles when they are tracking sheep, and other needed supplies. Out of gratitude for all the support MT-FNAWS has given the Highlands Sheep Project, four of the students became new members of the Chapter this year.

Moving forward, the Highlands Sheep Project will continue, providing a venue for local students to grow their appreciation and interest in the Highlands bighorn sheep herd. I will step out of the role as project leader and hand this duty over to Matt Vincent and his staff at CFWEP, who are better equipped than I to handle the logistics of the project and keep it going. This will allow me to focus on other aspects of the Highlands sheep management that require more rigorous attention. I will stay involved with the Sheep Project as a “technical advisor”, providing management perspective and context to future student research and Science Fair projects. I look forward to many more productive years working with MT-FNAWS to put sheep and students on the mountain!

Earth Day Film Showings at Montana Tech

2009-04-17T12:40:00.001-06:00

In honor of Earth Day 2009, the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program (CFWEP) is hosting free film showings at Montana Tech on Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22. Film showings begin at 7:00 p.m. each evening in Room 101 of the Chemistry & Biology Building on the Montana Tech campus. Brief discussions will follow each film. The featured films all address conservation and environmental topics.

On Tuesday, April 21, the featured films are Bugs of the Underworld and Red Gold. In Bugs of the Underworld, extraordinary, award-winning underwater video footage follows the life cycles of mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and other amazing stream bugs. In Red Gold, flyfishers and salmon enthusiasts will gain valuable insights as they see an award-winning documentary weighing the economic and ecological impacts of the Pebble Mine, a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine and the sockeye salmon fishery of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

On Wednesday, April 22, the featured films are The Legendary Mountain, The Lorax, and Mining Camp Makeover. The Legendary Mountain, an Anaconda Company production from 1974 about Butte and the mining and smelting process, presents a unique take on the city and the industry that built it. The animated featured The Lorax brings Dr. Seuss’ classic cautionary tale about our relationship with the natural world to life. Finally, Mining Camp Makeover, produced by BP-Arco, summarizes the recent environmental clean-up and restoration work in the Butte and Anaconda areas.

For more information, visit the CFWEP website at http://www.cfwep.org/, or contact Justin Ringsak, 406-491-0922, jringsak@mtech.edu.

CFWEP Restoration & Education Newsletter: April 09 Edition

2009-04-16T11:03:00.000-06:00

Community Rallies‘Round Silver Bow Creek

2009-04-14T16:55:00.007-06:00

During a sunny April evening at the Butte Chamber Visitor Center on the banks of Blacktail Creek, Butte musician Mike Tierney sang about Evel Knievel while a group of eager Cub Scouts and other kids dove into sample buckets of live aquatic bugs from Blacktail and Silver Bow Creeks. Other youngsters drew colorful sketches on the sidewalks with the assistance of artist Shawn Crowe from the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation. As the kids learned the basics of stream assessment, their parents and other local citizens learned about the past and future of the Silver Bow Creek restoration from local community members and agency representatives active in the restoration process. Through the work of the Citizens Technical Environmental Committee (CTEC), the Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee (CFRTAC) and CFWEP, Butte came together to show support for restoration at the Rally ‘Round the Creek.

While CFWEP was on hand to provide stream bugs and to run a mini-field trip on basic stream assessment, presentations on Silver Bow Creek by Ian Macgruder from Kirk Engineering and Jim Kuipers from Kuipers & Associates were the centerpiece of the Rally. Ian and Jim are the technical advisors to CTEC and CFRTAC, respectively, and they discussed the Superfund process, which is not exactly speedy, and potential recontamination issues to keep in mind as the community looks toward the future of Silver Bow Creek.

Historically, Silver Bow Creek was used by Butte mining interests as an industrial sewer to remove mine tailings wastes from the immediate area, causing them to settle in the creek channel and throughout the floodplain. The sandy looking material in the Google Earth image below is tailings.

Ongoing remediation and restoration has removed tailings from the floodplain and streambed. Clean soil is hauled in, and the channel is then rebuilt and revegetated.

Restored sections of Silver Bow Creek like this reach near Ramsay show vast improvement in terms of vegetation and water quality.

Different sites along the Upper Clark Fork River are being remediated and restored on different schedules. In an ideal world, the clean-up would proceed from the headwaters around Butte and Anaconda downstream to Deer Lodge and the Milltown Dam near Missoula. In reality, Superfund is a complex process that involves a lot of negotiating between the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Montana, local governments, and the Potentially Responsible Parties, or PRPs, a technical term for the private companies liable for environmental damages.

Due to the nature of the Superfund beast, downstream sites like the Milltown Dam and portions of Silver Bow Creek are being restored prior to completion of work on the primary sources of contamination around the Anaconda smelter site and the mine dumps of the Butte hill. While a lot of good work has been done downstream and around the headwaters, because mining and smelting wastes in Butte and Anaconda are being left in place and treated on site, the potential for recontamination of Silver Bow Creek and the Clark Fork from surface runoff, while low, does certainly exist. CTEC and CFRTAC are committed to keep the communities of the basin informed of such issues as the restoration continues to move forward.

Restoration doesn’t occur overnight, and even when completed, monitoring and maintenance are necessary to ensure the long term health of the environment. By coming out to support the success of the amazing Silver Bow Creek restoration up to this point, and by looking to the future, Butte and the surrounding communities are cruising right along on the road to environmental recovery.

Read about the Rally in The Montana Standard here.
Get the latest Silver Bow Creek update from the Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality and the Natural Resource Damages Program here (pdf file).

Get Out on the River:CFWEP Seeking Spring Fieldtrip Volunteers

2009-04-14T16:50:00.003-06:00

We are looking for watershed experts and interested local citizens to serve as fieldtrip leader volunteers for our school visits.

Spring 2009 Semester School Fieldtrips: 7th Grade
Thursday, April 23rd: Anaconda Middle School @ Anaconda
Thursday, April 30: Ramsay School @ Ramsay (7 & 8th grade)
Thursday, May 7th: Philipsburg School @ Philipsburg
Thursday, May 14th: East Middle School @ Butte
Friday, May 15th: East Middle School @ Butte
Friday, May 29: Deer Lodge School @ Deer Lodge (8th grade)
All fieldtrips run ~8:30am – 1:30pm

Fieldtrip Volunteer Training
Thursday April 30, 2009 -- 5 – 6pm
Location: Montana Tech Student Union Building
Hear what CFWEP is, learn about our school visits and gain the ability to be a fieldtrip leader using our protocols. Not required to be a volunteer, but will help you immensely. RSVP advised.

Additional opportunities available. To RSVP for training or for more information:
Jen Titus, CFWEP Field Coordinator
496 - 4691, jtitus@mtech.edu
Montana Tech Petroleum Building Room 003

Jen Titus is the Montana Water Educator of the Year!

2009-04-14T16:46:00.003-06:00

In the world of environmental education, no one is doing it for the money. The work is its own reward, but a little recognition never hurts. Every year, the Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) honors those dedicated individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty with the Water Educator of the Year award. At the 2009 MEEA Conference in Helena on Friday, March 20th, the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program’s own Jennifer Titus received the Water Educator of the Year award before a crowd of teachers, administrators, informal educators, and state agency reps from Montana’s environmental education community.

It’s a good time for us at CFWEP to thank Jen for her hard work and commitment, and also to look back on all of the amazing things she has done not only for our program, but for literally thousands of students and teachers across Montana.

Jen came to the CFWEP in 2006 as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA). At the time, CFWEP was a fledging program just getting off the ground. Jen took to CFWEP like a stonefly to clear, rushing water. She quickly put her own touches and improvements on the program’s curriculum. The lessons cover environmental science education and the environmental history of the Clark Fork Basin, the nation’s largest complex of Superfund environmental clean-up sites. Not only was Jen instrumental in developing the CFWEP curriculum, but she has also spent thousands of hours traveling across western Montana, visiting classrooms, delivering lessons, coordinating activities, supporting teachers, and leading field trips. Her teaching has always received stellar reviews from both teachers and students, and she is in great demand around the basin.

As part of her work, Jen has helped forge a network of expert volunteers and scientists from around the region, bringing them into classrooms and into the field, where they work directly with students as volunteer field station leaders and guest lecturers. Because of Jen’s dedication, thousands of Montana students have been exposed to biologists, engineers, geologists, foresters, and more from groups like Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP); the Forest Service; the Montana University System; the Department of Environmental Quality; and the Natural Resource Damages Program, to name just a few.

Jen’s work doesn’t stop there. She has also has been key in soliciting the support of several local chapters of Trout Unlimited (TU) and FWP to create a successful Trout in the Classroom program for eight western Montana schools. Under this unique program, classes receive a trout tank, paid for by a TU chapter, and trout eggs donated from FWP hatcheries. As the eggs hatch and the young trout develop in their classroom, teachers and students launch into a wide variety of topics, from biology to ecosystem studies. Jen personally travels to each school to set-up the tanks and show teachers and students how to maintain them, and she also spends a day with each participating class, leading them in a trout dissection with fish again donated from state hatcheries.

In the past year, Jen also took the initiative in creating an after-school science mentorship program at East Middle School in Butte (for more, refer to the science fair article in this newsletter). The program pairs students with scientist-mentors who help to guide and advise the students in creating and executing a research project for the local science fair.

While most of Jen’s time is spent working directly with students, she has also served the region’s teachers through CFWEP’s numerous teacher training programs. Through workshops and other professional development programs, Jen has shared environmental science curriculum materials, lessons, activities and information about the Clark Fork Basin environment with more than 100 teachers. After a few hours with Jen, teachers are much better equipped to return to their own classrooms and incorporate environmental education into their everyday lessons. Aside from the CFWEP core curriculum, Jen has also developed other environmental education lessons and activities that she is eager to share with teachers and students.

Her professional accomplishments aside, Jen is also an amazing environmental educator on a personal level. Her enthusiasm for the environment and for teaching is unmatched, and it is contagious, leading students and teachers to develop relationships with her outside of the classroom. Jen is always urging students to take action, to not only learn about their environment, but to work to promote its health. She never talks down to students, and she particularly excels at communicating the complexities of environmental science to students in language they can understand. Ask her about her Harry the Raindrop story sometime; it explains the water cycle in a way that makes it perfectly understandable to grade school students, and it’s a great little piece of storytelling.

We can imagine no one more deserving of the Water Educator of the Year award than Jen, not only for what she has done for CFWEP, but for what she has done for so many students, teachers and scientists in western Montana. Jen brings people together, and brings the environment to people in ways that are fun, relevant and educational. She truly deserves our sincere thanks and appreciation. Congratulations Jen!

CFWEP Restoration & Education Newsletter - Feb 09 Edition

2009-02-24T14:40:00.004-07:00

The latest edition of CFWEP's Restoration & Education Newsletter is now available online (pdf format). Go to cfwep.org to download it and hear all the latest and greatest from up and down the Clark Fork Basin.

"A Missoula County Almanac" in the making?

2009-02-18T00:21:00.009-07:00

University of Montana Environmental Studies graduate student Bethany Taylor is back with a new blog. In fulfillment of her Campus Corps volunteer position and supplementing the CFWEP's work in the Missoula schools with Milltown Dam and Clark Fork curriculum and activities, Bethany is assisting classes in learning about nature and environmental writing...read on!

I recently worked with some Missoula area 8th grade students in their Language Arts class. While this may not seem like the traditional venue for environmental science, it was a great chance to remind students that even if you aren’t a genius in Chemistry, there are still ways you can use your talents towards environmental preservation.
Here is a sampling of the students’ work:

The assignment “What do you think Nature and Environmental Writing are?” elicited a variety of responses.

From Elizabeth—“Flowing streams and gentle winds live silently and continue their varied paths as everything grows around them. A new obstacle is simply overcome by going over it or around it. A fallen tree in a creek creates a barrier and the water eventually finds its way around it and continues its way.
We, as humans, cannot go around our problems without paying them a visit later, but like the water we find a way to deal with it.
Similarities can be found with humans and nature and are easily conveyed through environmental writing. Take for example, our Earth, it goes through natural warming and cooling periods, almost as if it were sick. I am well aware that I do the same things. When ill, the body is overheated and sweats. The persperation then cools down and the body shivers, trying to warm itself? Could it be possible the Earth is the same?
I feel little through most environmental writing and can hardly bear to sit through while my eyes skim and re-skim the meaningless words.
However, if the writing was taken to a more creative level instead of the usual extremely seriousness, I’m sure it would be more interesting not only to me, but to many others.
Environmental writing is usually very opinionated and hardly even shows the other side of the story. It speaks the truth of things and tells you many things that you have no previous knowledge of.
I hardly find that this kind of writing affects me but I’m aware that my surroundings do. As winter approaches, a bear prepares itself for hibernation by filling up its fat supply. I prepare for winter by getting out my warm coat.
However, if there wasn’t a cold winter here I would prepare differently. Our environment affects how we dress, what we eat, and more.
Our animal friends face a much more harsh change than we do. Some travel long distances, others grow more hair and eat less.
There are many similarities between nature and our own life if only we look closer. Environmental writing looks very deeply into these and many more subjects, and I believe we could learn much from it.”

From Lauren—“I think that nature writing is any sort of writing that shows any connection to nature. Whether you are making comparisons between humans and nature, animals and nature, or nature and nature. So, you might read nature writing and not even know it because it doesn’t have to be direct. There is a large range of nature writing, and it doesn’t all have to be boring. Yes, it is possible for nature writing to be interesting and even enjoyable to read. But many people and teens wonder, ‘ok, so someone took the time to write a nature journal. What’s it to me?’ Let me explain the importance of nature writing.
First, it makes you more aware of your climate. Whether it’s your neighborhood or the world, nature writing gives you an insight to the issues of the natural world around us. What we need to change, what we need to stop, and what we need to fix. This kind of writing brings a level of awareness to us. It is possible to watch a movie or look up a website about global warming (or global climate change); a book better describes the situation to the reader. Or so that’s what my opinion is.
Next nature writing allows you to have more insight into other ecosystems. Although we all live in different locations and climates, the competition between humans and nature is ever going, just more prominent in some places. I think that it is comforting, subconsciously, to read about other people’s problems, just to be reassured that you aren’t the only one. Even if your issue isn’t nature related. It also makes me feel closer to the people who’s home you are reading about. That, despite the foreign ethnic backgrounds, you are both humans and both defy nature to live every day.
Finally, it is an experience nothing else can bring. Reading about something that is so different yet so similar to the ecosystem that you live in is something for everyone to experience because only when we make the connections will we be connected.
So, even though people might wave off nature writing, read it. It will be an experience unlike any other.”

From Braeden—“To me, nature writing it someone writing about their thoughts with nature. Like someone saying ‘I saw a cow’ isn’t nature writing, but someone saying ‘The great tree is a symbol of all that is harmony in the environments’ is nature writing. But to me, nature writing is a very dry subject. From the few chapters we read from “The Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold who dies in 1948 and was inducted into the Conservation Hall of Fame in 1965. I didn’t even know that they had a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. I mean, I’ve heard of sports Hall of Fame, but I’ve never heard of a National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So this whole National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame topic is pretty new to me. I don’t know how many people are in National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame but it can’t be that many. Anyway, back to nature writing. I still believe it will always be a dry subject to me. Maybe if there is a book about nature that is really interesting and has a plot then maybe it would change my mind and I might vote to induct the author to the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. But until that happens, I will always think it is a dry subject. It doesn’t have a plot which I can’t stand in a book. It doesn’t have any action, or adventure, or comedy, which, again, I can’t stand a book not to have. I never complained about “The Westing Game” or the other book we read. But nature writing is pretty awful. I really wish we would switch to a book with more of a plot instead of reading “Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold, who was inducted into the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame in 1969.
Still Nature Writing is a very dry subject, I don’t know how people can fill up whole books with ‘the rabbit was running across the field being chased by a dog. All of nature is going like clockwork right now.’ How someone could fill up 250 pages like that is beyond me. How someone could fill up a whole book with ‘nature is all in harmony, how beautiful.’ How someone could get published with a book without a plot and is so very dry frustrates me. I now have a new least favorite type of book: the plotless ones. This type of book infuriates me. This is what I think of your nature writing.
So now you know, next time let’s read a book with a plot or some action or adventure. Or we can read a book with comedy. Or maybe a book like “The Red Kayak” or maybe another book like “The Westing Game.” Instead of learning about National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. So there, that’s what I think of your “Nature Writing.” Take that society.”

Their next assignment was to write about a place that they would cry if it were destroyed, and what they would do about it.

From Malia—“There are many places in the world that I would cry if they got ruined. The most important place is though is my house. It is the most important place to be because it is where I have lived my whole life. Also, I have so many memories and I have all my possessions in it I would be so sad if my house burned down in a fire.
My house right now is the only place I have ever lived in. if I had to live in a new house, none of the rest of my life would be the same. I love my house so much, I would hate to have it burned down, because I have so many memories.
My memories in my house have been so abundant. Everyday at school, I have a new story to tell my friends. Some stories about my brother, my pets, my room. There is never an alike day in my life. Every day when I go home and relax, I just think about how much I love my house. I can still remember when I was five and my neighbor and I would play. We would go run outside, play on swingsets, do cartwheels, and play tag. There is so much in store for you when you have a house to live in that you love, and have your past in.
My whole life is in my house. I have my most valuable possessions, such as my iPod, phone, computers. But also I have more valuable things. I have a tree where my dog was buried. Also, there is my birth certificate, things from my younger childhood, and so much more that I don’t know how I could ever let those things go.
Everyday is a new day with new moments and memories. Every memory stacks up through the days, years, decades. If you appreciate your home, and life, you will be a great person. I love my life and everything that is important in it. I would cry if I lost my house.”

Malia wasn’t the only student who wrote about her house being the most important, which got into an interesting discussion about how the root of ecology is oikos, the Greek word for house, and what that means in terms of ecology and seeing the world as connected.

The final assignment was to write poems about where the students feel that they are from:

From Aaron—
“I am from a tennis court where I learned the game
I am from the black top where champions live
I am from Spokane where friendships lie
I am from Bozeman where sportsmanship lives
I am from Wimbledon where upsets roar
I am from the diamond where dreams remain
I am from the backyard and driveway basketball
I am from Great Falls where the biggest match becomes the funnest”

From Stacia—
“I am from the woods outside of my grandparent’s back door
I am from listening to the little birds and watching the squirrels when I was little
I am from little secret picnics that my grandma made me when I was young
I am from always being surrounded by protective mountains.
I am from playing on the swingset for hours in the hot summer sun.
I am from building teepees out of sticks and blankets
I am from making mud slides on the side of a hill
I am from climbing the oak tree and eating rhubarb out of the garden.
I am from just loving to be outdoors.”

From Braeden, (the same one who finds nature writing dry and plotless)—
“I am from standing on cold rocks in a creek
and running through meadows, sneezing with hay fever
from sprinting and tripping
and sliding and slipping
I am from running after what I thought was an ice cream truck
and then crying because I didn’t get any ice cream
from eating a large popcorn and puking at the movie theater
and thinking “shut up” was a bad word.
I am from watching “Dumbo” six times a day.
I am from Montana, and I always will be.”

They were a bright, cooperative, well-spoken and well-written class; my thanks to them and to their teacher for giving me the opportunity to work with them.

Underground Tale of the Pasty

2009-02-08T12:22:00.003-07:00

The CFWEP hosted a teachers workshop for its Milltown Dam and Clark Fork Virtual Education Portal (formerly "the trunks") this weekend at the Bonner School in Bonner.

We were treated with 27 teachers, eager to learn and very interested in hearing the science, stories and lessons of the Upper Clark Fork.

Upon a few individuals request, below is the recount of the story behind the Cornish pasty: staple food of underground miners for centuries and one of the trademark tastes of The Mining City....enjoy the story, and your next pasty!

When trying to teach kids about subjects that might seem complicated, like science, it always helps to use anecdotes that relate to things they can easily understand. In working with the students of the Upper Clark Fork basin, helping them to learn the health affects of some of the toxic substances found in mining wastes, like arsenic, lead and mercury, I’ve made it a point to use Butte’s hallmark entrée, the pasty.
Of course, we all like to think of the pasty being as Butte as Butte can be. However, just like the mining that made our town famous, the pasty too hails from some place else. Cornwall, England. The rich tin and copper mines in this southwestern-most region of the Old Country can be traced to 2000 B.C. Mention of the Cornish pasty can be found as far back as the 1200s. Mining’s importance in their culture can be summed up with a common Cornish definition: “A mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it.”
When mining began to peter out in Cornwall in the late 1800s, the “Cousin Jacks,” as they were known, emigrated to the mining meccas abroad, like Michigan’s Copper Country and of course, Butte, to carry on their historic skills. They also brought with them the pasty.
So how do you explain the human health affects from heavy metals and arsenic through a hand-held meat and potato pie? It turns out that the Cousin Jacks didn’t eat pasties just because they tasted great and were more filling than most other lunches you could take underground.

Talk to anyone who’s worked below, or take a peak at a historic photo of the working folk from Butte’s heyday: Underground mining is a dirty business, perhaps the dirtiest of them all. A shift underground would cover you from head to toe and then some in the mine’s dirt, dust, muck and mire. And although they were mining copper, silver, tin, whatever the moneymaker happened to be in the rock, there came with it all the other geologic tagalongs not so desirable, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, toxins that will eventually wreak havoc on a man’s health.
The two major pathways for these poisons to make it into our bodies is either breathing it in (inhalation) or eating it (consumption). Once a man went underground to work, there wasn’t any coming back up to the surface until the end of his day, unless he came up dead or maimed. In the days before respirators and dust masks, there wasn’t much a miner could do to keep from inhaling the metals-laden dusts, save for holding his breath – an impossibility over an entire shift. Many figured that inhaling the dust through the filter of a cigarette was better than nothing – even though there were “NO SMOKING” signs posted in the Butte mines in 16 different languages. And there certainly weren’t any faucets or trusted methods of washing away the grime from your face or hands before lunchtime.

Prior to the pasty, miners in Cornwall probably ingested an equal amount of poison for every bite of nourishment he ate. Chronic diseases from arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals poisoning like cancer, ulcers and Mad Hatter’s disease were traced to the ingestion of these ubiquitous mining toxins early on. That didn’t mean a miner was going to stop eating underground. Hats off to the wives of Cornwall for fashioning a tasty solution to the problem.
The traditional Cornish pasty had a pinched crust much thicker than the ones on the pasties we eat today. The large, thick crust on the side of the original pasties was put on to serve as a handle, something the miners could hold on to with their filthy hands, while they ate the rest of the pie untouched and therefore, untainted with whatever might be clinging to his fingers.

Another note of difference between today’s pasty and the original is that the first pasties usually had rutabagas or turnips in them along with the standard meat and potatoes. Some wives added an extra treat: a compartment that held a fruit filling at one end to serve as “dessert.” When the miners were finished eating the filling, all they had to do was chuck the crusty handle and go back to work. It was also said that the throwing of the crust into the mines was a token of bribery or maybe even respect to the underground spirits or “knockers.” The knockers were blamed for knocking down big rocks, the “Duggans,” from above, under which many an underground toiler perished. The miners figured the ruthless spirits would be less likely to do so if their presence was acknowledged by the tossing of a tasty scrap of crust and perhaps a quick Hail Mary. There were well over 2,000 men who died in Butte’s underground mines over their operation. Only the knockers know how many pasty crusts were left behind and eaten.

So the next time you don’t have the time or facilities to wash your dirty hands before eating lunch, grab on to a pasty and don’t forget to leave the crust behind. Your body will thank you and so will the knockers.

Guest Blog: Science vs "Science"

2009-01-20T16:37:00.006-07:00

You may have heard that Yellowstone National Park is experiencing an unusual number of earthquakes. If you have been following the news, you will know that Yellowstone is a dormant, but not dead, volcano, and that it is a zone of relatively high earthquake activity even at the best of times. In late December, seismic activity ramped up, causing fears of cataclysm in the form of giant volcanic eruptions, poison gas, and/or boiling lava.

Some of the misinformation circulating the internet about the significance of that activity is downright laughable, but some of it is downright dangerous. The facts are readily available at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/, but what I want to address here is the difference between information posted by legitimate researchers in legitimate articles, and the un-scrutinized ramblings of bloggers [like me??? Never!].

Here are my main points:

There IS a difference between the ideas presented by someone in their own blog or on their own website, and those presented in legitimate scientific journals. Any blogger can have a thought, write it down, and send it out to the World Wide Web for anyone to view. Even the most informed and reasoned thoughts sent out this way do not have the reliability of ideas that are published in a scientific journal and supported by data and analysis. Articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals present data and conclusions that have survived careful scrutiny and even attack by any number of other scientists. That is what “peer review” means.

Real science is gladiatorial. Every research scientist out there has two main goals in life: 1. prove that her/his ideas are sound, and 2. prove that competing ideas are not. Scientists learn early in their careers that there is little to be gained by going along with what has been done in the past. They must carve out their own niche by being right where others have been wrong. This means being intensely critical of others’ data and conclusions. It also means trying to produce data and conclusions that withstand the criticisms of the other gladiators. By the time a researcher publishes a study in a peer-reviewed journal it has been scrutinized many times by other scientists, not the least during the peer review process. And the scientists who review the articles (typically at least 3 for each paper) are not thinking “What can I do to make this scientist and her study look good?”, they are thinking “What are the flaws in this study and how can I prove it wrong?”

Even the nicest reviewer will reject a flawed paper. And even the best paper will receive negative comments from reviewers. I have not published as much as many scientists, but I have gone through the peer-review process more than a dozen times, so I know how it works. Run this by your scientist friends if they don’t tell you the same thing: no paper comes back from the reviewers without red marks all over it. Most scientists I know have a routine for dealing with reviews, which involves scanning them quickly once, putting them down, and then going for a long walk (or a workout or a stiff drink) to get past the invariable pissed-off-must-control-fist-of-death fury elicited by the reviewers’ comments. It may take as long as a week to calm down enough to go back and take the reviews seriously. And it may take many months to address all the concerns about the study that have been raised.

It may be hard to convince a scientist that they have been wrong, but most will face up to new data and better reasoning and alter their conclusions accordingly.
This is not true of those who fill their own web pages with long, windy, and often very detailed exposés of evolutionary science or of the USGS reports on the non-life-threatening activities in Yellowstone Park. A theory that cannot be proven wrong is not a scientific theory. A scientific theory cannot be PROVEN right – at best it can be supported by data and observations. Evolution is a theory that is supported by all available data. Plate tectonics is another. Gravity is another. This brings me to my final point.

The PhD granting institutions of this world are not cranking out scientists who are trying to bolster the theories of evolution or plate tectonics or gravity.
There is not a legitimate scientist in this world who doesn’t dream of being the one who shoots down the biggest and best theories out there. And believe me, if they had the evidence to disprove one of these theories, they wouldn’t publish it in a blog or in a letter to the editor. It would be front page in “Nature” or “Science” (two of the leading peer-reviewed journals on the planet).

Bottom line: Think twice about casually dismissing studies that have undergone scientific review. And think three times about casually accepting those that have not.

-Colleen Elliott, PhD

Dr. Elliott is a geologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology and a founder and former Director of the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program. She is an experienced teacher and scientist, and, even though she lives in Butte, MT, she isn't worried about Yellowstone blowing up.

Milltown Dam Education Program field trip

2008-12-16T10:58:00.002-07:00

Meet Bethany Taylor, a University of Montana graduate student in Environmental Studies. Bethany, who is pursuing the writing option within the EVST program, is one of seven U of M students working with CFWEP to lead its Milltown Dam Education Program in the Missoula area and Anaconda schools this year. Bethany and the other UM students are guided by CFWEP and also under the skillful eye of Dr. Vicki Watson.
Ms. Taylor, a New Hampshire native, will be a guest Waterblogger over the next several months. We hope you enjoy her account of Carlton Nelson's class field trip from earlier this winter. Mr. Nelson's class came to the Milltown site after being the first class group to visit the BP-ARCO waste repository, or commonly known as the Opportunity Ponds.

“I wonder if this is what aliens would do to us…” was one comment overheard as Mr. Carlton Nelson’s seventh graders from Anaconda’s Fred Moodry Middle School poked and prodded at macroinvertebrates on a recent CFWEP field trip to the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers near Milltown Dam.

The Anaconda field trip was the last one facilitated by CFWEP this fall, and it seemed to the facilitators as if the best had been saved for last—these students were across the board engaged, informed, and did a great deal to counteract the “bad rap” that middle-school students often unfairly receive. Despite chilly temperatures, the students all maintained good attitudes and demonstrated a clear understanding of the various ways one can assess river health, and why in particular, Montanans should know about the status of these two rivers. In fact, the Anaconda students have better reason to know about the health of the rivers and the clean-up than most—the Opportunity Ponds where the contaminated sediment is consolidated is pretty close to their backyards.

Not that their proximity to toxic waste seemed to dampen the Anaconda students enthusiasm for studying the rivers in any way. The day before the field trip to the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers in Bonner and Missoula, the students had been taken to Opportunity to see the former tailings ponds, now referred to as the BP-ARCO repository. That was deemed “pretty cool” by most of the students—with the exception of one kid who was wearing shorts that day and wasn’t allowed off the bus. “We’re the only kids who’ve gotten to see those ponds,” several students said.

Active involvement seems to be the key to getting students to retain interest and absorb scientific concepts and data. The site CFWEP uses on the Blackfoot River is on a big gravel bar. Due to recent rains and snow, then snowmelt from the mountains, the river had changed its course and come right through the gravel bar with a 15-foot wide channel. While this created some interesting logistical challenges, including a longer trek than usual from the bus to the site in the chilly morning, what was more interesting was having an active example of recent geomorphology.

We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about how rivers are active ecosystems, but even comparing data collected two weeks before the Anaconda trip showed a different river. The underscored the importance of record keeping, which made perhaps a few more cold fingers wiggle out of their mittens to record data on the water chemistry, the geomorphology, the macroinvertebrates, and the riparian vegetation. The combination of these studies amounted to giving the two rivers a full physical exam, and then comparing the data to determine the health of the rivers.

In general, the Anaconda students found that the two rivers were in good shape. Perhaps more importantly, the students had fun, and learned how to apply lessons from their science classes and CFWEP lectures to reality. They also got to learn new things.

“The coolest thing I learned is that plants that grow along the river steal oxygen from the river at night,” said an enthusiastic Aly Bisch. She and her friends were at the water chemistry station, possibly the favorite station of the Anaconda students, although they were interested, involved, and informed at all four. If these are the entomologists, water chemists, geomorphologists and riparian ecologists of the future, the health of these rivers are in good, if heavily-mittened, hands.

Data from Anaconda - 7th Grade Fieldtrip (May 15, 2008)

2008-12-02T13:32:00.002-07:00

On May 15, 2008, the students from Bob Orrino's class in Anaconda went on a CFWEP Fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: an less-impacted site (Warm Springs Creek at Washoe Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Fairmont Crackerville Road). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.

Warm Springs Creek at Washoe Park (Less-Impacted)
Warm Spring Creek at Washoe Park is located behind the fish hatchery.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to Warm Springs Creek, the air temperature was about 14 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was about 9.10 degrees Celsius according to the data gathered at the site. The temperatures were measured using GLX Probes. The pH readings of the creek showed that the creek was slightly basic on the day of the fieldtrip. The dissolved oxygen was about 16 mg/l. Concentrations of Iron and Nitrates were measured using test strips. The Iron concentration was about 0.05 ppm and the Nitrate concentration was about 0.63 ppm.

Vegetation - The vegetation in the riparian area consisted of mostly grasses with some small trees located about 20 feet of the river.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance score for this area was 30, which means the water quality is excellent. The top three most popular macro-invertebrates were Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies.

Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Farimont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.

Water Chemistry - During the site visit the air temperature was 22 degrees Celsius and the water was approximately 12 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was measured at 20 mg/l and the turbidity was measured at 300 NTU. The iron and nitrates concentrations were 0.10 ppm and 1.63 ppm respectively.

Vegetation - The main vegetation in the area consisted of grasses, forbs, and trees.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index score calculated during the fieldtrip was 25. This suggests that the water quality of the creek is excellent. The top three macro-invertebrates seen were Snipeflies, Caddisflies, and Midges.

Data from East Middle School - 7th Grade Fieldtrip (May 9, 2008)

2008-11-20T16:25:00.003-07:00

On May 9th, 2008, the students of East Middle School, Karen Alley's 7th Grade class went on a CFWEP fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: a less-impacted site (Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.

Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park (Less-Impacted)
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park is classified as a residential, recreational, and urban area that has been impacted by mining, remediation, illegal dumping, and development.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Blacktail Creek site, the weather was cold and wet. The air temperature was approximately 7.85 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was approximately 5.50 degrees Celsius. The pH of the stream indicated that is was neutral. The dissolved oxygen was 7.75 mg/l and the turbidity was 5.40 NTU. The copper concentration of the stream was about 4.81 ppm.

Vegetation - Most of the vegetation consisted of tall and short grasses. The short grasses ranged from right next to the stream to about 40 feet from the stream. The tall grasses ranged from 5 feet from the stream to 50 feet from the stream. The ground was about 5% bare with the rest being covered by vegetation.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 12. This score indicates that the water quality was fair.

Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.

Water Chemistry - During the visit the Silver Bow Creek the air temperature was 5.22 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was 5.41 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen was 11.8 mg/l and the turbidity was 9.88 NTU. The concentrations of copper, iron, and nitrates were not tested for.

Vegetation - The vegetation near the stream consisted of both short grasses and tall grasses with some shrubs present. The ground cover is mostly bare, with about a 40% cover from vegetation.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index for this site was 9. This score indicates that the water quality was poor.

Data from Philipsburg - 7th and 8th Grade Field Trip (May 1, 2008)

2008-11-19T20:33:00.003-07:00

On May 1, 2008, the students from Mr. Christopher Robinson's class in Philipsburg went on a CFWEP fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: Flint Creek Campground and Douglas Creek. Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.

Flint Creek Campground, Philipsburg
Flint Creek Campground is classified as a recreational park, urban (highways), rural (dirtroads), and national forest land site that has been impacted by logging.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Flint Creek Campground site the air temperature was recorded at 1.07 degrees Celsius and the water temperature was recorded at 3.05 degrees Celsius. Based on the pH values, the stream seems to be neutral or slightly basic. The stream was not tested for copper, but it was tested for iron and nitrates and no concentrations were detected.

Vegetation - The common plants seen in both the riparian area and upland area were conifer trees. In the upland area Knapweed and Mullen were spotted. Most of the ground cover for both the riparian area and upland area are grasses.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The average pollution tolerance index was calculated to be 34. The top three macro invertebrates seen during the fieldtrip were Caddisflies, Mayflies, and Black Flies.

Soil Assessment - The soil texture is mostly loamy sand and is slightly acidic.

Douglas Creek
Douglas Creek is classified as a residential, urban (highways), rural (dirt roads), and Superfund/Environmental site impacted by development and mining.

Water Chemistry - During the site visit to Douglas Creek, the air temperature was 6.10 degrees Celsius and the water temperature was 4.20 degrees Celsius. Based on the pH data gathered, the stream was close to neutral. Copper concentrations were not recorded for this site; however, iron and nitrate concentrations were tested for and there was no detection of either element.

Vegetation - The common vegetation seen in both the upland area and riparian area were conifer, cottonwoods, and grasses. Knapweed was spotted in the upland area. The main source of the ground cover were weeds and grasses.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index was calculated to be 18, with Caddisflies being the most popular macro invertebrate seen during the field trip.

Soil Assessment - The soil is most like silty clay and based on the pH readings is neutral.

Data From East Middle School - 7th Grade Field Trip (April 25th, 2008)

2008-11-17T20:59:00.008-07:00

An April, 25, 2008, the students of East Middle School, Kathy Foley's 7th Grade class went on a CFWEP Fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites; a less-impacted site (Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.

Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park (Less-Impacted)
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park is classified as a residential, recreational, urban area that has been impacted by mining, remediation, illegal dumping, and development.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Blacktail Creek site, the weather was cloudy. The air temperature was recorded at 45 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was recorded at approximately 3.65 degree Celsius. The dissolved oxygen and turbidity were 10.34 mg/l and 4.58 NTU respectively. The creek was not tested for copper concentrations, but the iron and nitrate concentrations were 0.15 ppm and 0.97 ppm respectively.

Vegetation - For the vegetation assessment, the common vegetation in the riparian area consisted of willows. While in the upland area the common vegetation recorded were aspens, along with some sagebrush. Thistles were spotted in both the riparian area and the upland area. Most of the ground cover consisted of grasses and shrubs in both the riparian area and upland area.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The average pollution tolerance index score for this site was 14. The top three macro invertebrates found at the site were blood midges, beetles, and worms.

Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a Superfund site. The area had been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to Silver Bow Creek, the air temperature was measure to be 3.20 degrees Celsius, and the creek temperature was measured to be 3.97 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen and conductivity were 11.33 mg/l and 355.67 uS/cm respectively. The copper concentration was measure at 13.30 ppm, along with the nitrate concentration measured at 2.00 ppm. The concentration of iron was not measured.

Vegetation - The common vegetation in the riparian area was tufted hair grass. Spotted knapweed and cheat grass made up the majority of noxious weeds. The overall plant community was contaminated.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index score was calculated to be 16. The top three macro invertebrates found at the site were snipeflies, caddisflies, and craneflies.

New Montana Student Riparian/Wetland Project: A Letter to Principals and Science Teachers from Middle School Teacher Eric Vincent

2008-11-10T10:35:00.010-07:00

Eric Vincent November 3, 2008
Holy Spirit Catholic School
2820 Central Ave. Great Falls, MT 59401

RE: Montana Student Riparian/Wetland Project

To: Principal and Science Teacher(s)

Hello, my name is Eric Vincent. I am a middle school teacher at Holy Spirit School in Great Falls, and represent a group of students involved in an innovative project that seeks to repair and sustain threatened riparian and wetland areas across the beautiful state of Montana. Working in conjunction with agencies such as the Missouri River Conservation Districts Council, Assistant State Conservationist, Montana Wetlands Legacy Partnership, Dept. of Fish Wildlife and Parks, and others, the group is developing an effective, feasible method of involving students across the state in helping to protect the wetland and riparian areas of Montana.

According to the Montana Audubon Society, “Less than 2% of Montana is comprised of wetlands, yet 50% of bird species depend on these important areas,” and another 75% of the state’s plant and animal diversity can be found at riparian sites. In addition to being a critical habitat for birds and other wildlife, wetlands assist in water purification and flood control. Current estimates state that half of the U.S. wetland areas have disappeared over the past two centuries. Sadly, 100,000 acres of wetlands in America are destroyed annually. To ensure these crucial habitats thrive, it is vital that we each get involved in our local area to physically mend our environment, while educating others along the way. Community grassroots initiatives such as ours can be one of the most effective methods of making a real difference, and we believe Montana’s youth are the right individuals for the challenge.

The plan goes something like this: Schools across Montana (every high school and middle school, over 400) are being asked to create “Riparian Repair Teams” that consist of 5-15 students—theoretically one school could have several teams. Once established, each team would be designated a riparian or wetland site close to their physical location and would be asked to visit this location one to two times a year to provide necessary improvements to the site; partnering and sponsoring agencies will identify the area, threat, and action required by each team, while we would participate in and help coordinate the efforts. Typical duties of a “Repair Team” may include: monitoring water quality and/or fish and bird populations, eliminating noxious weeds, planting native plants, or perhaps even assisting in river bank restoration. The idea is that each site will be assigned multiple teams, thereby requiring a team to commit to only one visit per year. Our goal is to have a working calendar by spring of 2009.

We believe the plan is both simple, and effective, and highlights the old adage, “Many hands make light work.” We ask you to please join us in this endeavor by saying YES to restoring and preserving our wetlands, and YES to creating your own local Riparian Repair Team. Let Montana serve as the flagship to a program that, we hope, will be instituted in every state in America.

NAME OF RIPARIAN REPAIR TEAM__________________________________________________

NAME OF SCHOOL___________________________________________________

COUNTY_________________________________________________

NAME OF CONTACT__________________________________________________

PHONE________________________

EMAIL________________________________________________

ADDRESS______________________________________________

NAME OF TEAM MEMBERS:
_____________________ ____________________

_____________________ ____________________

_____________________ ____________________

_____________________ ____________________

_____________________ ____________________

Feel free to add any comments:

Many Thanks! On behalf of Delanie, Mikaela, Mckenna, Laura, Lane, and Eric

Westslope trout found in Restored Silver Bow Creek

2008-11-06T09:40:00.015-07:00

In the restoration of Silver Bow Creek,
the word “progress” can be essentially defined with the recent capture of two native Westslope cutthroat trout in its flows this October. While barely enough to fill one fisherman’s stomach (if keeping westslopes were legal, of course), the presence of these two fish speaks volumes to the likelihood that a stream long-revered as one of the West’s most contaminated waterways has hope in establishing a future fishery, if things continue down the same, right path.

It’s noteworthy to mention that while the trout found in the creek this fall are certainly remarkable, the ongoing and previous restoration across the floodplain has been very successful to date, most notably judged by the exceptional increase in vegetation diversity and the presence of various waterfowl, shore and song birds, deer, moose, and even elk frequenting the area. What is particularly significant about the discovery of the two Westslopes during the annual electrofishing count on Silver Bow Creek is that they were collected in a location several miles away from the closest “clean” tributary supporting a healthy Westslope population.

In the past, brook trout have been found during the annual fisheries monitoring, but never Westslopes, and what’s more, never so far away from one of the uncontaminated tributaries, like Browns Gulch and German Gulch creeks. Westslope cutthroat can serve as an “umbrella species” in an ecosystem – if there are Westslope cutthroat trout thriving, then everything else in the ecosystem must be relatively well too – another piece of evidence that all is going as planned in the ultimate restoration of Silver Bow Creek.
This is exciting news as the project moves closer to completion (the remediation and restoration of Silver Bow Creek is now expected to be finished by the end of 2011). It’s also important news in light of some recent monitoring data that shows metals recontamination occurring in some of the upper reaches of the restored stream. Greg Mullen, the restoration project manager for the Natural Resource Damage Program, stated the following in light of the recent trout findings: “Once the wastewater treatment plant (Butte’s Metro Sewer municipal sewage treatment plant, which discharges high volumes of nutrient-laden water to the creek) is cleaned up, then we should see more trout in Silver Bow Creek.”

Perhaps the biggest thing for the public and others to remember when judging restoration projects of this magnitude is that it takes a significant amount of time for a stream to return to an uncontaminated condition after more than a century of intense abuse and misuse. The remediation and restoration of Silver Bow Creek started in 1999; it wasn’t until 2008 that the first native trout were found swimming in its restored reaches. One of the remedial goals of the project from the mid-1990s was to reestablish a self-sustaining native Westslope fishery in Silver Bow Creek. Well, it’s nine years later and we’re getting there.

In restoration, it’s the destination, not so much the journey, that needs our greatest attention. There are lots of ups and downs along the way, but keep in mind that the end of the road will take us to a better, cleaner place.

Another good example and case for this reminder is the Milltown Dam and Sediments Removal remediation and restoration project, 120 miles downstream at the Clark Fork’s confluence with the Blackfoot River. With the breaching of the dam last March, there has been a significant amount of sediment, some containing arsenic, that washed downstream of the project, allegedly impacting the middle Clark Fork fishery and macroinvertebrate populations, not to mention the reservoir at Thompson Falls another 100 miles downstream. Regardless of these short-term impacts, the important thing to remember again is that restoration takes time.
The Clark Fork-Blackfoot confluence has been hidden and contaminated behind and beneath the Milltown Dam and Reservoir for 100 years. This integral link between big river ecosystems was just reconnected in March of 2008 and while there are some short-term impacts that might not be as positive as we’d like to see, there are thousands and thousands of fish and their future generations already much, much happier, even in the murk of some extra sediments.

Of course it would be foolish not to look closer at short-term data that shows problems, especially if the problems are ones that can and need to be addressed. The data showing recontamination of restored Silver Bow Creek tells that there is still significant work left to be done on the Butte Hill; the Milltown sediments loading since the breaching signifies that additional erosion and sediment control measures may need to be in place before the Spring 2009 runoff. But it’s just as foolish for one to expect that fragile and complex ecological systems like those being restored are going to improve overnight or, likewise, to sound the alarm of failure at the earliest signs of negative data. Again, not to belabor the point, it took our predecessors more than a century to put this watershed in the condition that required the current cleanup; it is certainly possible that it could take decades before things are fully restored, depending on the definition of restoration.

But the rewards of a revitalized watershed are as great as any mother lode.
Who knows? Maybe in some of our lifetimes, the trout swimming in Silver Bow Creek might be the same trout that swam past the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork to spawn.

The Salish-Kootenai and Pend d'Oreille peoples’ historic name for the confluence area was “the place of the big bull trout.” While at this point in time, we should relish in the simple discovery of the Westslopes returning to the most contaminated reaches of the Clark Fork system, it certainly might be feasible that in future generations the words of the native people could again come true. After all, “if it can be recalled, it can be restored.”

We have a vision, a plan and a mission underway to clean up the Clark Fork watershed from its damaged condition. But what we also need to have, as much as or maybe even more than anything else, is patience.

As the end of the 2008 construction season closes on Silver Bow Creek, let’s have a look at the progress to date and the work to be performed in the near future: Volume of contaminated materials removed: 3,700,000 cubic yards
Miles of stream remediated and restored: 10 miles
Acres of floodplain remediated and restored: 950 acres
Percentage of Total Project Completed: 70%
The Next Six Months:
A new stream and floodplain will reach from Butte all the way downstream to the railroad trestles at the upstream end of Durant Canyon;
Almost one mile of new stream will be completed in the beginning reach of Subarea 4 (near Opportunity/MT Hwy 1);
The bid package for the first 2.5 miles of the Durant Canyon cleanup section will be released.

CFWEP Sails on the Pea Green Boat

2008-11-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

CFWEP has moved into the entertainment industry with its first hour long radio show on Montana Public Radio’s Pea Green Boat with Captain Annie Garde.

I happen to be a huge fan of the Pea Green Boat, a children’s program broadcasted Monday through Friday, 4 – 5pm. It tends to match my level of intellect. Annie and I met during the National Folk Festival last July in Butte. The CFWEP booth at the festival family area was crowded with children looking at bugs collected from a stream. In the background was the occasional cry of a bug-loving kid being pulled from the table by their parents. Annie happened to stop by and seemed interested enough in the children working with the bugs. I took the opportunity to see if Annie would like bugs to visit her Pea Green Boat.

On a Friday morning, I made the trip to Missoula for the show along with Claudia, my boyfriend’s 8 year old bug-obsessed daughter. We stopped on the Clark Fork River in Drummond to collect a variety of bugs from the river and toted them to Missoula to see Annie.

It was our first time in a radio studio and there was so much to see. After a quick tour we moved into our studio-home for the next hour. With our magnifying glasses ready, Claudia and I spread our collected bugs in basins near our microphones and settled in. Annie outfitted us with headsets and, after a brief tutorial on how to speak into the microphone, we were off and sailing!

Panic set in at first. Annie introduced us on the air while Claudia and I looked at each other bug-eyed. Our legs jerked, ready to leap for the door and back onto dry land, but Annie smoothly pushed us off from the dock and after a few questions from her we settled right in.
The program was primarily educational. When Annie asked Claudia about a dragonfly, Claudia promptly replied, “He squirts out water from his butt to give him energy to swim, and then he can swim a little bit farther.”

Annie also made some observations of her own. “I am looking at one now. He kinda’ looks like a caterpillar . . . the brown part of him is almost transparent and going right down his center is a big black line that seems to be inside of his skin that is transparent. He is creeping along, and as he goes that black line goes back and forth too.”

And I replied, “Well, very interesting to have see-through skin. We would look a lot different with see through skin, I think.”

“Oh boy, we would see a lot of stuff – and not just a big black line!” said Annie. The bug in question was a cranefly, a regular favorite on CFWEP field trips.

Before we knew it, our ride was over and we returned with the Pea Green Boat to dock. Our thanks to Annie and all at Montana Public Radio for giving us, and the bugs that call the Clark Fork River home, a voice on the airwaves.

Hear the whole show, available in downloadable MP3 format, on our website at http://www.cfwep.org/About/peagreenboat.html.

-Jen Titus, CFWEP Field Coordinator

Restoration, Economics & Education

2008-11-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

In the Clark Fork Basin, environmental restoration is big business. At the headwaters, the ongoing restoration of Silver Bow Creek continues. Downstream, workers continue to excavate century-old mine tailings from the former Milltown Reservoir. And, with the filing of the Consent Decree for the mainstem Clark Fork River Superfund site in February 2008, local governments, state agencies and community groups are making preparations for the many new restoration projects that will result from the $104 million in new funding that will be administered by the State of Montana’s Natural Resource Damages Program.

Restoration projects have been recognized as an economic driver in southwest Montana for most of the last decade, and, at the state and national levels, others are beginning to quantify and explore the idea of a “restoration economy.” To explore the educational and training needs of such a restoration economy, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, along with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and Montana Tech of the University of Montana, presented a workshop on “Filling a Void: Growing Montana’s Restoration Workforce” at Montana Tech’s Copper Lounge on Thursday, October 2nd in Butte.

Before a packed house including Montana scientists, government officials, educators and representatives from labor and community groups, speakers and panelists recounted the history of environmental damages in Montana, and how by restoring damaged landscapes communities create not only healthy ecosystems, but new economic opportunities. Make no mistake, restoration is hard work, and it requires a wide variety of expertise. From on-the-ground heavy equipment operators to scientists and researchers engaged in monitoring and analysis to the designers, administrators and coordinators who take restoration projects from idea to action, restoration means jobs.

After an initial panel discussion on restoration workforce needs in Montana, workshop attendees put their heads together to better define the state’s restoration needs and the sorts of jobs and education required. There was general agreement that the greatest needs lie in the areas of communications, science, and technical skills, and that a balance must be struck between specialists focused on one aspect of the complex process of environmental restoration and generalists who can articulate a “big picture” understanding.

CFWEP Director Matt Vincent sat on an afternoon panel on the present and future of restoration education in Montana, discussing the obstacles the program has overcome and the successes it has enjoyed. The panel largely agreed on the necessary ingredients for successful restoration education: an interdisciplinary approach; project-focused lessons and courses; real-world experiences and mentorships for students; and the promotion of Montana’s stewardship culture. It has been through just such methods that CFWEP has achieved measurable successes over the past several years, and, as the concept of a restoration economy gains traction, CFWEP can serve as a valuable model for other communities seeking to promote restoration, while improving education and local economies at the same time.

A healthy environment, better education and job creation? It almost sounds too good to be true, but, from Butte to Missoula, the restoration economy is thriving. With the commitment on display at the Governor’s workshop, Montana just might be the first state in the nation to develop a sustainable economy hand-in-hand with a sustainable environment. The rest of the country stands to learn a thing or two from the transformation of the nation’s largest Superfund site into the nation’s largest restored, healthy watershed.

-Justin Ringsak, CFWEP Communications Coordinator

Dr Arlene Alvarado: Welcome Aboard!

2008-11-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

CFWEP is excited to announce the addition of our newest staff member, Dr. Arlene Alvarado, Program Specialist. Arlene comes to us from the Montana Tech Biology Department, where as an adjunct faculty member; she teaches Anatomy and Physiology, and has previously taught Zoology, Evolution and Introduction to Biology.

Dr. Alvarado was also a lead member of the Hanta Virus Research team as an animal behavior expert within the Biology Department. Her expertise will allow her to help CFWEP with its database development and management, field research mentorship program and as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) faculty liaison, with our program’s new elementary education Math and Science partnership project. The addition of our new superstar Program Specialist brings CFWEP full-time staff to five, with another full-time VISTA slated to join us in January. Come meet Arlene at our next fundraiser, Saturday, November 8th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Quarry Brewery!

Fall Fieldtrip Season Closes with a New Student Record

2008-11-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

The fall fieldtrip season has come to a close and with it another great season with our students. As the restoration work continues to move downstream, so do our fieldtrip sites that serve as examples of a stream impacted by tailings. This fall we moved to Silver Bow Creek near Opportunity – next door to the newly built visitor’s center on Route 1. Thank you to Shelley Holland, MT DEQ for allowing us access to that site. Students monitored that site observing vegetation, water quality and macroinvertebrates. Students also monitored Silver Bow Creek in a restored section upstream of Rocker for a contrasting comparison to the tailings in Opportunity. 175 7th graders and 38 9th graders from Butte monitored those sites and each left with an imprint in their minds of what tailings next to a stream looks like, and what it looks like after tailings are removed. We hope it is a site they will remember. 32 students from Drummond school also joined the fieldtrip season monitoring sites in Garrison and Drummond.

Fieldtrip leaders who lead the fieldtrip stations with students are really what make our fieldtrips great. This year our fieldtrip leaders were: From CFWEP staff and student help, Justin Ringsak, Rayelynn Connole, Eric Henrich, Sabira Farrow and I. Volunteers included Dave Salo, US Forest Service, Carly Gibson, US Forest Service, Raj Kasinath, Montana Tech, Joe Griffin, MTDEQ, Rich Prodgers, Bighorn Environmental, Christina Talley, Montana Tech, Debbie Smith, Montana Tech, Kenda Herman, US Forest Service, and Billie-Jean Reynolds, Retired Teacher.

This year’s success with students can be marked with a new student record. CFWEP offers assistance for students interested in continuing their learning in the watershed with research projects or involvement in local projects. This year a record 20 7th grade students all from East Middle School have requested assistance in continuing their research in the watershed. Each student will be matched with a science mentor to complete their science fair project. Students will be meeting afterschool Wednesdays starting November 5th. Each week we will work through a portion of their project. They will meet with their mentors outside of this time. By February students will all have completed their projects. Anyone interested in working with these students as either a mentor, or help with the sessions is welcome!

-Jen Titus, CFWEP Field Coordinator

Montana Schools Dive Into World Water Monitoring Day

2008-11-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Water is essential, not only for humans, but for the health of the natural world around us, for our industries and our development, and, for the fisherman and floaters among us, for our recreation and relaxation. But water is also a tricky little molecule. We all live within the fluid motions of the water cycle. The Earth’s waters fall to the ground as rain or snow; sink down to become groundwater; flow downhill to become part of streams, lakes and rivers; or evaporate into the atmosphere to do it all over again. The water cycle means connection. Our local actions affect our waters, which could, in turn, cycle on to affect other waters. And, over the past century, we have affected the Earth’s water in unprecedented ways.

We are only now beginning to understand the consequences through education and events like World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). WWMD was developed by an international consortium of government and private organizations to promote our understanding of our waters, and to encourage local communities to accept the responsibilities of stewardship. With the support of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, three southwest Montana high schools took part in the 2008 WWMD, collecting and assessing data on several local water bodies.

Tenth grade students from teacher Darcy Schindler’s science class at Drummond High School spent a day at the confluence of the Little Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers and at the Clark Fork at Drummond City Park. The students completed visual observations and evaluated vegetation and animal signs and collected and assessed stream insects along with data on the baseline chemical content of the river. Based on the data they collected, students concluded that the Clark Fork River is a healthy stream and getting better over time with the help of upstream restoration projects, a far cry from the Clark Fork of past decades that would run red with metals contamination.

Further upstream, students from Butte High School and Butte Central High School monitored conditions in the Clark Fork headwaters at the Mill-Willow Creek Bypass Channel, Silver Bow Creek at the Warm Springs Ponds discharge, Silver Bow Creek near Rocker, and Blacktail Creek at Thompson Park. Students did an excellent job of navigating the complex issues and science involved in these headwaters creeks; for the curious, complete data results are listed below.

Butte High students observed significant differences between the aquatic insect populations of Silver Bow Creek at the Warm Springs Ponds discharge and, right next door, populations of the closely linked Mill-Willow Creek bypass channel that circumvents the ponds. While the bypass showed a healthy, diverse insect community, including many specimens of sensitive stoneflies and mayflies, the discharge was dominated by scuds and caddis. Similarly, Butte Central students found vastly different insect populations at Blacktail Creek and Silver Bow Creek near Rocker. While tiny swimmer mayflies and stones were found in large numbers at Blacktail, downstream at Silver Bow more pollution-tolerant leeches and blood midges had taken over. The students’ chemistry data pointed to possible explanations for the differing bug communities, including nutrient issues on Silver Bow Creek related to Butte sewage discharge and the possible effects of the Warm Springs Ponds waste treatment facility on Silver Bow Creek’s insects. All student data was submitted to the WWMD database, which catalogues monitoring results from around the globe.

To quote WWMD organizers, “The need for water is fundamental for all living things. This need knows no boundaries, and it is critical that individuals become aware of the ways in which they can impact water quality.” Today, the Clark Fork Basin offers us seen and unseen reminders of our past impacts, and, in Montana, students are demonstrating an awareness of those impacts and a commitment to the health of our rivers. The future of Montana’s waters is in good hands.

-Justin Ringsak, CFWEP Communications Coordinator

For more on World Water Monitoring Day, visit the WWMD website at http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/

Milltown Dam Education Program Update

2008-11-05T15:12:00.004-07:00

Ever since the breaching of the Milltown Dam last March the confluence area of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers has been in constant flux. Excavators and haul trucks operating, trainloads of contaminated sediments running 100 miles upstream where additional excavators and haul trucks work in reverse at the other end of the watershed, spreading Milltown wastes atop the old Opportunity Ponds tailings. Mother Nature is into it full-board too, carrying tons of sediments and woody debris downstream from the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers, springing up new riparian growth along sandbars and stream banks and sending trout and other fish up past the confluence for the first time in more than 100 years.

It’s a busy and exciting site, progress in perpetual motion.

In fact, from the Milltown bluff viewing site, the whole process looks something like ants at a big picnic where there’s never a shortage of food, not even for one minute.

The CFWEP is pleased to give an update on our own progress in making sure Missoula, Bonner and Anaconda kids are taking it all in. In its first year of operation in Missoula, the CFWEP is working with Missoula schools to offer the Milltown Dam Education Program. It was only fitting that the first school to go through the new and improved Milltown program be the one closest to all the activity. Sean Kiffe’s 7th graders from Bonner School kicked off the 2008-09 school year in October. Since then, Sussex and St. Josephs in Missoula have taken part, with four more Missoula schools set to visit the site in the spring. Carlton Nelson’s 7-8th graders from Anaconda will finish out the fall Milltown field season the week of November 17th. If you’re a scientist interested in lending a hand or just coming out to observe, please feel welcome and contact CFWEP at mvincent@mtech.edu or at 406-496-4832.

The Milltown program includes three days of classroom lessons and hands-on activities with students and one full-day field trip visiting Milltown, the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot River to see what’s going on, both with their own eyes and with science. To that end, students take on the role of riverine scientists for a day, starting by spending a half-hour at the bluff with one of the many professional scientists and engineers working on the project. Professional scientists who have worked with the students on the project to date include Doug Martin (Natural Resource Damage Program), Ben Johnson (Envirocon), Mike Kustudia (CFRTAC), Chris Brick (Clark Fork Coalition) and Mike Bader (Bader Consulting).

From the bluff, it’s all about the students doing science themselves, led by a team of top-notch University of Montana graduate students working with Dr. Vicki Watson’s Environmental Studies program. Activity stations at the field study sites include water quality, macroinvertebrates, riparian vegetation and sediments and morphology data collection. The University student all-stars who have worked tirelessly with CFWEP in the development and implementation of the field and classroom program are Amy Edgerton, Katie Makarowski, Kelley Garrison, Bethany Taylor, Christa Torrens, Charlie Larson and Sarah Hamblock. Thanks to all who have helped make this program a success so far.

And if we haven’t seen you yet, we’ll look forward to this spring! If you’re a teacher, don’t forget to mark your calendar for Friday and Saturday, February 6-7 for the CFWEP’s next Milltown Dam Education Program Training Workshop at the Bonner School. Participants will receive a $200 stipend and are eligible for 18 OPI renewal units.

Again, visit http://www.cfwep.org/ for more information or contact Matt Vincent at 406-496-4832 or email mvincent@mtech.edu.

-Matt Vincent, CFWEP Director

The photo above shows a train loaded with contaminated sediment at the dam site. The area to the left of the train is the former reservoir, where workers are currently excavating sediment that was contaminated by historic upstream mining and smelting from Butte and Anaconda. The area to the right of the train is the former channel of the Clark Fork River. The river has currently been rerouted as part of ongoing remediation and restoration work.

Data From East Middle School - 7th Grade Field Trip (April 24,2008)

2008-10-14T13:34:00.007-06:00

Data From April 24,2008 EMS Fieldtrip

On April 24, 2008, the students of East Middle School, Kathy Foley's 7th Grade class went on a CFWEP Fieldtrip. They visited the following two sites: an less-impacted site (Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park); and an impacted site (Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont). Below is a summary/average of the data gathered during the fieldtrip.

Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park (Less-Impacted)
Blacktail Creek at Father Sheehan Park is classified as a residential, recreational, urban, area that has been impacted by mining, remediation, illegal dumping, and development.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to the Blacktail Creek site, the weather was cold and windy. The air temperature was recorded at .10 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature was recorded at approximately 3.4 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen and turbidity were 6.74 mg/l and 3.13 NTU respectively. The creek was not tested for copper, but the iron and nitrate concentrations were 0.17 ppm and 0.60 ppm respectively.

Vegetation - For the vegetation assessment, the common vegetation in the riparian area consisted of willows and grasses. The plant/ground cover was dense.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The average pollution tolerance index score for this site was 23. The top three macro invertebrates found at the site were blood midges, beetles, and worms.

Silver Bow Creek at Crackerville Road, Fairmont (Impacted)
Silver Bow Creek at Creackerville Road, Fairmont is classified as residential, agricultural, partially urban/partially rural, and is a superfund site. The area has been impacted by development, mining, agriculture (stock watering/crossing, irrigation/diversion), vegetation removal/maintenance, and remediation/restoration.

Water Chemistry - During the visit to Silver Bow Creek, the weather was windy and cold with some snow. The air temperature was not recorded, and the creek temperature was recorded to be 6 degrees Celsius. The dissolved oxygen and conductivity were 10.70 mg/l and 355.17 uS/cm respectively. The copper concentration was measured at 10.5 ppm. The concentration of iron and nitrates was not recorded.

Vegetation - The common vegetation in the riparian area was mostly willows, salt grass, and tufted hair grass. The overall plant community was impacted by mining and looked very unhealthy.

Pollution Tolerance Index - The pollution tolerance index score was calculated to be 13. The top three macro invertebrates found at the site were snipe flies, blood midges, and crane flies.

Afield Again

2008-09-21T15:28:00.007-06:00

Subalpine September snow flurries might intimidate some, but one thing we've learned here in Montana is that if you plan on working in the field, you can't wait on good weather. Such was the Anaconda Range's Storm Lake the perfect setting for our first field trip of the new school year.

CFWEP's Youth Court program took its alternative community service venture beyond new boundaries the weekend after Labor Day with an outing into the wilderness. Literally.

Wilderness photographer and enthusiast Chadeayne Roush, your anything but typical septegenarian, met our students at the Storm Lake trailhead for a 7-mile excursion into the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness area that included a semi-summit of Little Rainbow Peak (9,989') and a walk over Storm Lake Pass to the awe-inspiring Goat Flat.

None of the 13 students who made the hike had ever ventured on a hike of this distance, let alone this destination into the wilderness backcountry before. The trip was an awesome experience for the group nonetheless, as one put it best while taking in a windy vista of the Big Hole valley through a snow-speckled screen:

"I think I just found my new hangout."

Prior to making the trek, the Montana Wilderness Society's John Gatchell and Montana Tech ecology professor Dr. Michelle Anderson delivered evening lectures and discussion on the unique and important benefits that wilderness areas provide to humans, plants and animals.

Wilderness is an unspoiled setting where all of us, regardless of species, can sink in and simply be ourself without anything else getting in the way, even if it only lasts for a day. And at many times throughout this day, the students faces said it all.

2008 CFWEP "Flood Days" Silent Art Auction

2008-07-30T11:35:00.010-06:00

Why is CFWEP holding a Silent Auction?

On June 21st, the CFWEP worked with the Clark Fork Coalition, the Clark Fork River Market and other organizations and state agencies to coordinate a river awareness event commemorating 100 years since the great 1908 flood that greatly exacerbated the already significant hard-rock mining pollution in the Upper Basin. As part of the event, regional artists created original pieces inspired by the past, present and future of the Clark Fork River. Two pieces are being auctioned off as a fundraiser for the CFWEP and CFC.

How does the Silent Auction work?

CFWEP, in coordination with the Clark Fork Coalition, is currently accepting bids on two of the original pieces produced at the event. in a "silent auction" format. Here is how it works:

1. Email your bid to jringsak@mtech.edu

2. Please be sure to include your name, phone number, bid amount, and which piece you are bidding on in the email

All current bids will be listed on cfwep.org, updated weekly. The auction will close on 09.01.08, with pieces going to the highest bidder at that time. All proceeds go toward the CFWEP and the CFC. If you have any questions or comments, send an email to jringsak@mtech.edu.

The Art:

Item #1: The Living River, Summer Solstice 2008 by Corey Graceacrylic on canvas24" x 36"

Item #2: River Kills by Matt Vincent dye and mine tailings slurry on textile 36 " x 48 " (approximate)

Seeking Volunteers for Willow Cutting

2008-06-10T17:51:00.002-06:00

CFWEP, in collaboration with the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation and the National Folk Festival, are seeking volunteers to assist in gathering willow cuttings in the Butte area that will be used as art materials for Family Area Activities at the 2008 National Folk Festival in Butte on Saturday and Sunday July 12 and 13. We will provide volunteers with all necessary equipment and transportation to cutting sites. Volunteers are also welcome to come to willow cutting events at any time during the two scheduled cuttings (i.e. you don’t have to be there all day- if you can pitch in for an hour or two, we would appreciate it!). Site locations are To-Be-Announced. To sign-up, or for more information, contact Justin Ringsak, CFWEP, 406-496-4897, jringsak@mtech.edu. Thanks!

Willow Cutting Dates:
Monday June 16, 2008, Noon-5pm
Monday July 7, 2008, 2:30-5:30pm

Guest Blog: We need to live life with ocean in mind

2008-06-10T14:46:00.003-06:00

By Wallace J. Nichols
Article Launched: 06/06/2008 01:34:07 AM PDT

Everywhere I go, people ask: "What one thing can I do for the ocean?"

My daughter, a kindergartner, answers simply: "pick up your trash." Of course, using energy-efficient light bulbs or driving a hybrid are good answers, since global warming is fundamentally an ocean issue. Then again, the simple act of choosing to eat seafood that is sustainable and healthy can help the ocean.

But our ocean is in serious trouble. Reading recent news and scientific papers is enough to make your head spin. They tell us that there is no corner of our vast ocean that is not free of human fingerprints.

As an oceanographer, I'm quite familiar with the relentless bad news. Keeping up-to-date on it all is a part of my job. Since the ocean holds the majority of life on Earth and governs our air, our climate and our food, that means we're in real, big trouble.

As daunting as it appears, the ocean crisis can be boiled down to three problems: we've put too much in, we've taken too much out, and we are wrecking the edge.

Who wouldn't be concerned about the ever-expanding Texas-size "garbage patch" in the Pacific Ocean, the shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing, right whales and sea turtles drowning in fishing gear, and the summer closure of beaches due to toxic pollution?

What you can do?

Obviously, there is no silver bullet - or, is there? If I had one answer to give to those who ask, "What can I do for the ocean?" it would be this: "Live like you love the ocean." Living like we love the ocean means putting less in, taking less out and protecting the ocean's edge where so much life lives.

Less in. Less out. Protect the edge.

Simple.

Rather than wringing our hands, hope is on the horizon. We can live like we love the ocean in many ways.

First, shop like you love the ocean.

Buy products that are ocean-friendly. Use a canvas bag to get your stuff from the store to your car to your house, rather than a plastic bag that will stick around forever. Drink filtered tap water from a refillable glass or steel bottle instead of buying water shipped halfway around the world.

Second, eat like you love the ocean.

When you choose seafood, be sure it's caught sustainably. That's gotten a heck of a lot easier lately as Whole Foods, thousands of local restaurants, and even Wal-Mart are going organic and sustainable.

Third, vacation like you love the ocean.

Doing your part

This summer, hike in a coastal park or visit an aquarium. Go on a sea turtle or whale watch where your visit supports conservation. Surfing, kayaking and snorkeling are all ocean-friendly activities. Why not join Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup and make a day of it with your friends?

Lastly, vote like you love the ocean.

Many local, state, and national politicians support bold efforts to tackle global warming, create ocean parks - our so-called "Undersea Yosemites" that Ocean Conservancy is helping to build - and better fund cutting-edge ocean science. With our votes, we must be perfectly clear: We want leaders who bring about sea change.

We are entering a decade of progress in the culture of conservation and sustainability. Millions who care deeply about the ocean are joining to transform our relationship with the sea - they are starting a sea change.

Each of us must be part of this ocean revolution - each in our own way, each as part of a connected whole.

Join for yourself. Join for others. Join for the ocean. But, when you join, please remember to live like you love the ocean.

WALLACE J. NICHOLS is a senior scientist at Ocean Conservancy and a research associate at California Academy of Sciences. He was featured in the documentary film "The 11th Hour." He wrote this article for the Mercury News.

The 1908 Flood Trickles Down to the Present

2008-06-05T17:28:00.005-06:00

The past never truly leaves us. It deposits itself, once used up, in layers underneath us, forming the foundations that we walk on in the present and the future, for better or for worse. The modern Clark Fork Basin, the largest complex of Superfund environmental cleanup sites in the U.S., is the result of a past shaped by a confluence of forces, both natural and human-created. 100 years of mining and smelting at the headwaters in Butte and Anaconda significantly impacted the area, and some of those impacts were channeled down the creeks of the basin, ultimately impairing the ecological health of the Clark Fork River.

In 1908, mining in Butte had been booming for several decades, while down the road in Anaconda ore processing operations spread air and water pollution throughout the Deer Lodge valley. Further downstream near Missoula, construction had just been completed on Copper King William Clark’s Milltown Dam. The dam was built to power Clark’s nearby lumber mill, which supplied timbers for the mines back upstream, as well as modern trolley cars, streetlights and electricity in Missoula.

In June of 1908, a massive flood event, the largest of historic record, exacerbated the environmental impacts already occurring at the upper end of the basin. In Butte and Anaconda, mine tailings that had been disposed of in and along local creeks were picked up by the momentum of the rising waters and washed downstream. Some tailings were deposited in floodplains. In the Clark Fork floodplain in the Deer Lodge valley, patches of such tailings, often called “slickens”, are still clearly visible as bare patches of dirt with little or no vegetation.

The force of the flood carried a large volume of tailings past the town of Deer Lodge, and, as the Clark Fork’s channel narrowed and, with water added from the Little Blackfoot River, Flint Creek, Rock Creek, and other tributaries, fewer tailings sediments settled out of the water as it made its way down toward Missoula. Finally, the flood pushed this large volume of tailings into the Milltown Dam. The contaminated sediments settled out in the reservoir, where they remained until the recent dam removal and restoration project.

The effects of the 1908 flood have flowed into modern times. Looking across the basin today, we can see these effects in the ongoing restoration of Silver Bow Creek as streamside tailings deposited by a century of mining are removed. We can see these effects in the slickens dotting the landscape of Deer Lodge Valley; restoration of this section of the river should begin in the next few years. We can even see these effects in the waters themselves, where, if there is heavy runoff or rain, metals and other contaminants wash in, threatening fish and aquatic life. We can see these effects 120 miles downstream at the Milltown Dam, where tailings deposits contaminated the local aquifer with arsenic and ultimately played a key role in the decision to remove the dam. And we can see these effects at the BP/Arco Waste Repository near the town of Opportunity, where tailings from Silver Bow Creek and Milltown are shipped and spread out atop the six square miles of tailings already present at the site from the old operations of the Anaconda Smelter and Reduction Works.

And so in 2008 the tailings that washed downstream to Milltown a hundred years ago are making the trip home, back upstream to Opportunity, not quite reaching their ultimate point of origin on the Butte Hill. As we go forward in restoring the Clark Fork River, it is essential to remember the past and its consequences. Our actions also have consequences, some immediate, some very long term, and many we do not have the ability to see or predict. As we proceed with restoration, and as the natural resource economy continues to be a part of Montana culture, we must be mindful that our actions today will carry over into tomorrow. Restoration is no easy task, neither is limiting the impacts of civilization, growth and development on the natural world. But if we don’t wish to lose the rivers, landscapes and wildlife we profess to love and treasure here in the Treasure State, then we must continually work to understand the consequences of our actions and to do our best to maintain the health of our last best environment.

It would be a mistake to think that the cleanup of the Clark Fork will some day be “finished” or “complete.” The cleanup of the Clark Fork and similarly impacted rivers is not so much about a linear series of tasks to be completed as it is about our long-term relationship with the river. A culture of environmental stewardship is blooming in Montana, motivated by past impacts, but once the visible remnants of those impacts have been restored and removed from our field of vision, we must keep our eyes locked firmly on that slippery concept of stewardship in the hope that, in another 100 years, we can celebrate the centennial of a healthy Clark Fork River.

Seeking Teachers & Students to Work as2-Week Summer Field Evaluators for theButte Reclamation Evaluation System (BRES)

2008-05-30T11:30:00.003-06:00

The CFWEP is seeking interested teachers and students to work in paid positions as summer field evaluators on Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit reclaimed sites. Five selected teachers and five selected students (high school, undergraduate or graduate level) will have the opportunity to collect monitoring data about the reclaimed Butte environment and gain valuable experience in practical field science. Participating teachers will also have the opportunity to earn OPI renewal credits.

• Participants will receive a one-week (Mon-Fri) BRES field evaluation training and become certified BRES field evaluators.
• Teacher-student pairs will each perform a field evaluation of BPSOU sites for a one-week (Mon-Fri) period.
• Teacher-student pairs will be responsible for inputting their week of field data into the BRES database. Database entry will be on the Monday after the end of each pair’s evaluation week.
• Teachers will be required to prepare a data summary report of their week in the field with their student; students will be required to assist in preparation of summary report and to perform one or both of the following tasks: prepare a summary report of their experience; and/or develop a science fair/research project using the skills and expertise gained in the summer experience.
• As an addendum to the summary report, teachers will be required to submit one lesson plan and/or field activity curriculum product to be used in their classroom based upon their experience.
• CFWEP staff will provide technical support and assistance throughout the project.
• All necessary equipment will be provided.
• Each participating teacher will receive a stipend of $1,500. Up to 40 OPI renewal units are available and offered free of charge.
• Each participating student will receive a stipend of $750.
• The deadline for applications is Thursday, June 5th, with successful applicants notified no later than Friday, June 6th. Training will be held during the following week, June 9th-13th. Teacher-student pairs will then be assigned dates to conduct field evaluations based on availability and BRES requirements.

To apply:
Contact Justin Ringsak, CFWEP Public Education Coordinator, at 406.496.4897, or email jringsak@mtech.edu.

Identifying Montana Trout

2008-05-13T16:41:00.005-06:00

This blog entry comes to you courtesy of Bader Consulting, mbader@montana.com, with fish art copyright Joseph Tomelleri, courtesy Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

The Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is Montana's largest migratory trout and is protected as a Threatened Species. The Montana record is 26 pounds, yet even larger fish are likely. In late Summer bull trout begin epic spawning journeys up to 100 miles. They are sensitive to changes in habitat and require colder, cleaner water than other native fish.

The Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) is classified as a "sensitive" species in Montana. Once abundant, "pure strain" cutthroat (not inter-bred with other species) are now restricted to 5% of their former range. They are most often located in headwaters streams and high mountain lakes. The state record is 16 pounds from Red Eagle Lake.

Rainbow Trout (Oncoryhnchus mykiss) are relatively abundant in Montana's cold water rivers, streams and lakes. Their name comes from the colorful stripe running the length of the body. The Montana record is 33 pounds, from the Kootenai River. Rainbows often interbreed with cutthroat trout. The record hybrid is 33 pounds from Ashely Lake.

Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), also known as the German Brown, is a large trout which spawns in the fall. They take their name from the brown-yellow color of their bodies. Attaining large size, the Montana record is a 29 pound fish from Wade Lake.

The Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a non-native fish and the smallest of the trout species. The Montana record is 9 pounds from Lower Two Medicine Lake. They are most often found in smaller tributary streams. Brook trout have displaced native trout from the lower reaches of many streams. Since they are chars, they can interbreed with native bull trout, often resulting in sterile offspring.

Use These Good Trout Fishing Practices:

Know Your Fish
Know the regulations for your location
Use single, barbless hooks
Avoid fishing in hot weather & high water temps
Practice quick release techniques

For More Information, visit:

http://fwp.mt.gov/education/fishingeducation

www.sierraclub.org/sierrasportsmen

Volunteers of the Month Marko Lucich & Tom Malloy

2008-05-12T15:37:00.004-06:00

Ahoy, CFWEP followers! The program is pleased to announce its newest honoree as Volunteer of the Month. First of all, let’s be clear, the “of the month” designation has lost its punctuality, and even though we will continue to call it our “VOM” award, it will be given out on a more “every other month” basis. The “Volunteer of the Every Other Month Award” just doesn’t have a great ring to it, though, considering this is coming from the already unwieldy acronym “CFWEP.”

This month, the CFWEP has decided to give our prestigious award to two individuals for the first time. Congratulations to the Butte Chamber of Commerce’s Marko Lucich and Tom Malloy of Butte-Silver Bow City-County as Co-Volunteers of the Month!

Marko is the director of the Butte Chamber and has graciously provided his Visitors Center on George Street, free of charge, as a first-stop for visiting classrooms to The Mining City, not to mention the headquarters for the CFWEP’s volunteer training workshops. Marko also gives the CFWEP the key to the Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand, allowing us to bring students to the area’s favorite Superfund site all through the year.

Tom is an environmental engineer and the Reclamation Manager for Butte-Silver Bow City-County. Tom has been volunteering with the CFWEP in various capacities for the past few years. Particularly, in the last few months, he has arranged for two middle and elementary school classroom visits to the Anselmo Mine hoist house and mine yard, hosted an environmental studies group from Billings on a tour of Butte restoration sites and, most recently, spent a day in the field with 75 Butte seventh graders on Silver Bow Creek, no easy feat for anyone.

The CFWEP greatly depends on the expertise and cooperation of professional scientists like Mr. Malloy and the flexibility and generosity of local citizens like Marko and his organization in order to successfully continue its educational endeavors with the youth of the Upper Clark Fork Basin. Thank you very much, Tom and Marko!

How Much Fish Does a Fish Hawk Eat? - Osprey & Citizen Science in the Clark Fork

2008-04-23T11:34:00.013-06:00

Well, it depends. But for interested high school students and folks from the Upper Clark Fork, they’ll soon be able to give you an exact answer.

The Clark Fork Watershed Education Program has teamed up with researchers at the University of Montana to provide what will be an awesome experience for the public: to take part in an important field project over the next few months to help determine the effects of mercury on the area’s osprey population. There will be two public meetings to provide more information and to recruit “citizen scientists” for the project:

-Tuesday, April 29 in Deer Lodge at the St. Mary's Center

-Wednesday, April 30 in Drummond at the School/Community Library

Both meetings start at 5:30 p.m. The meetings will last around 1 ½ hours and will include a brief presentation followed by a trip to a local osprey nest for a field training on collecting observation data. Once recruited, “citizen scientists” are expected to make one trip per week to their assigned nest to collect data over the next 3-4 weeks. The data will be then be provided to the University of Montana for their ongoing research project.

Those who sign up to volunteer with the project will be included in the sampling trips in mid-June to mid-July, where osprey chicks will be brought down from the nest, banded for identification and blood sampled for mercury analysis at a lab. Optional involvement includes a trip to the laboratory in Missoula at the UM campus and technical support.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), or “fish hawks,” are commonly observed near Montana’s lakes, reservoirs and rivers. They are migratory, with the Clark Fork population arriving in April and departing in October for wintering grounds in Central and South America. They are especially important as a “canary in the coalmine” species for determining river health. Unlike eagles and other hawks, the diet of the osprey consists entirely of fish, unless it’s absolutely necessary to seek other prey such as small mammals and reptiles. They feed primarily on “rough” fish, such as suckers and whitefish, although trout and other species are consumed regularly.

The amount of fish osprey eat is largely determined by whether they are feeding their young and by the distance they must travel from their nesting area to the river or food source, but typically they feed twice per day. Most fish caught by the flying fisherman range in size from 5 to 16 inches, although the osprey can heft fish weighing 4 pounds occasionally. Though very rare, there are instances when an osprey has drowned upon “hooking into” a fish too large to lift, being pulled underneath.

As the king of the river food web, they are an excellent indicator of what contaminants are present in the river system. When DDT and other harmful pesticides were legally used, the osprey population was nearly decimated. Their numbers bounced back and now they are being studied with respect to the effects mercury has upon them. Mercury, found primarily in the sediments of streams, accumulate in all species of a river ecosystem. Used heavily in historic gold placer mining operations, mercury is deposited primarily from contamination in the atmosphere. The liquid element, known as “quicksilver,” is a highly toxic substance to the nervous, digestive and reproduction systems of many species, including humans.

To learn more about the project, please contact Justin Ringsak, Montana Tech at (406) 496-4897, jringsak@mtech.edu, or Erick Greene, University of Montana, (406) 243-2179.

A couple of cool osprey sites to visit:
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ABNKC01010.aspx
The Bird Web: http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=96

Flowing Water: The Milltown Dam Breach and the Restoration of the Clark Fork River

2008-04-08T16:48:00.004-06:00

On Friday, March 28th, near Missoula, the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers flowed freely past the remnants of the Milltown Dam for the first time in over a century. The earthen dam above the flat ground where the dam powerhouse once stood was breached near high noon, and the water wasted no time in following the path of least resistance through a shallow channel into the powerhouse flats and on down the Clark Fork River, where it undoubtedly continued flowing through northwestern Montana, into Idaho, pausing for a time at lake Pend Oreille, then finally moving on to the Columbia and the Pacific Ocean. While the breach has garnered considerable media attention, the real story is not the breach itself, but the history and context that led a community to spend an ocean of time and money to unmake what our history made.

Hundreds of people turned out to witness the breach on a chilly spring day, braving the icy slopes of a steep bluff to catch a glimpse of water in motion. To understand the significance of the dam breach, and why the crowd came, requires some knowledge of the history of the dam and the Clark Fork River. This story has been sadly overlooked in most media coverage, and without it, the dam breach could seem like a dog-and-pony show. "What’s the big deal?" the uninitiated might ask.

The big deal is mining, and copper, and electricity. Today, more than a century removed from the dark old days of pre-electrification, it is easy for us to take the power lighting our homes and revving up our armies of gadgetry for granted. But our brave new world came with a staggering cost, and the Milltown Dam and the Clark Fork River were a part of it.

As demand for copper soared in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, due significantly to its use in the transmission of electricity and also in war-related applications, 120 miles upstream from Milltown, the city of Butte was bustling. Men risked their lives for the prospect of a good paycheck to pull as much copper out of the ground as was humanly possible. The underground tunnels required lots of timber supports, and the process of extracting copper from raw ore through heap roasting and, later, smelting and concentrating also demanded wood to fuel the fires. As a result, William Clark, one of the three legendary Copper Kings, the mining barons of Butte, built a mill at the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers. Milltown was born.

To power the mill and to produce electricity for his utility that served the cities of Milltown and Missoula with an electric streetcar system, Clark built a dam along with it, the same dam that is generating so much interest these days. The dam was barely finished when a 1908 flood of epic proportions, some call it a 100-year flood, some say a 500-year flood, struck the Clark Fork River.

To understand what happened next, we need to understand the situation upstream in Butte and Anaconda in 1908. Mining and smelting had been going full-tilt for decades. While the ore mined in Butte at the time was high-grade, sometimes approaching 30% copper, the mines still generated huge amounts of waste. The most prominent form of mine waste was tailings, the fine-grained, sand-like sediment that is a byproduct of the milling and concentrating process. Rich in sulfides, heavy metals and arsenic, when mixed with water and oxygen tailings render sulfuric acid, which further mobilizes metals and arsenic into solution at toxic levels, through a chemical process known as acid mine drainage. At the time, these tailings were simply discharged into the nearest convenient creek. Acid mine drainage was not a concern- maximizing copper production was. In Butte, Silver Bow Creek turned into an industrial sewer, with tailings spread out over the floodplain. In Anaconda, tailings from similar operations were dumped into Warm Springs Creek and also spread throughout the southern end of the Deer Lodge Valley. Both creeks sit at the headwaters of the Clark Fork River.

The 1908 flood picked up a massive amount of tailings and other mining wastes and washed it down the Clark Fork. Throughout the Deer Lodge Valley, some tailings settled in the floodplain, resulting in small patches of dead soil called "slickens" where vegetation is unable to grow. Past the town of Deer Lodge, the Clark Fork’s channel narrows as it enters a series of canyons running northwest to Missoula. The narrow channel means faster water, so less tailings waste settled out in these stretches than in the wide-open Deer Lodge Valley. Instead, these tailings were swept up in the swift current until they backed up against the Milltown Dam. About 8 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment were deposited behind the dam. The structure itself was almost washed away in the flood, and Clark had to send miners from Butte, well versed in explosives, to dynamite out the spillway so that the whole thing, powerhouse and all, would not be washed away.

And those tailings have remained at the dam until the past year. The current dam removal and restoration project, carried out beneath the umbrella of numerous federal and state agencies under the banner of the Superfund law and implemented by Envirocon, a private company, is removing the most toxic of that sediment. Every day since last October, trainloads of the stuff have been making the trip to their new home back upstream just outside of Anaconda near Opportunity, where they are unloaded and spread out over the top of the 160 million or so cubic yards of tailings that are already there, a legacy of the big old smelter stack that still stands over Anaconda, casting a long shadow that stretches out to every light switch and electrical socket in the country.

The good news is that the contaminated sediment being shipped from Milltown to Opportunity is considerably less nasty than the stuff that is already there. Because the tailings deposited at Milltown have been underwater in the Clark Fork River for a century, organic matter and other sediments carried by the river were mixed in, rendering the Milltown tailings sediments richer and with a lower acidity and concentration of metals. The state and federal cleanup crews' hope for Opportunity is that the Milltown sediments will serve as a cap, allowing vegetation to grow over the top of the Opportunity tailings, providing a barrier to infiltration into area groundwater and a cap to minimize blowing dust problems.

The motives for the dam removal are directly tied to the tailings deposited at its base. In 1981, arsenic was found in Milltown groundwater. It had infiltrated from the tailings deposit, and posed a human health risk via residents wells used for drinking water. The dam also was problematic for fish, particularly bull trout, listed as a federally threatened species in 1998, as it blocked significant migratory routes from the Lower to Upper Clark Fork, and the reservoir behind the dam created prime habitat for non-native, predatory pike. There were also concerns that the dam was old and decaying, fears that were magnified by an ice jam event near the dam in the mid 1990’s. Compounded, these reasons added up to the ongoing dam removal.

And last month’s breach was only a part of the overall restoration of not only the dam site, but the entire Clark Fork Basin. Upstream, the restoration of Silver Bow Creek continues. The Opportunity site, formerly known as the ponds, now affectionately referred to as the BP-Arco Waste Repository, looms, and we are left to watch and wait and hope that sprouts will appear in the new layer of Milltown sediment. Across I-90 from Opportunity, the Warm Springs Ponds, where lime is added to the waters of Silver Bow Creek to reduce its acidity and cause heavy metals to drop out, remain a question mark. In the short term, the ponds have become excellent waterfowl habitat, but the future of that site, like so much of the Clark Fork, is unclear.

In other words, restoration is not a one-day celebration. The dam breach, while certainly a pivotal moment in the history of the basin, is only a small step toward a healthy river system, toward undoing the damages a century of careless progress wrought. We are all culpable for those damages, so long as we continue to enjoy electricity, and we all share part of the moral obligation to preserve and restore this high wild river basin. And, make no mistake about it, restoration is no simple matter. It will take money and hard work to return the Clark Fork to a healthy ecosystem, and, more than anything, it will take time.

The crowd that came out for the dam breach greeted the free-flowing waters of the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot with cheers and rapt attention. It was inspirational to see so many so invested in the restoration. If the restoration of the Clark Fork, America’s largest Superfund site, is to succeed, then we must maintain our focus and our respect for these wild places, and make those values a foundation of our Montana culture. The dam breach is a good start. We should take strength from it. There is still much work to be done.

Queer Spots In and About Butte: Chapter 1

2007-11-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

When it comes to learning about one's watershed, it is impossible to fully understand without history. What a watershed this Upper Clark Fork is and has been!
The Anaconda Standard recognized Butte’s rich history long before anyone else ever did. Beginning on March 18, 1906, the Butte newspaper, printed in Anaconda and formerly owned by the late Marcus Daly, began running a weekly column in its Sunday editions: Queer Spots In and About Butte. Let’s be clear, “queer” had yet to establish its colloquial definition in 1906; the writers were more likely using the dictionary's explanation: differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal . Live here and look around for long and you'll agree.
The first story in this interesting series featured the history of The Mining City’s precipitating plants, those being the plants that extracted copper from the metals-rich mine waters of which there were plenty by taking advantage of a simple chemical replacement reaction. Under the acid condition of Butte’s mine runoff, contaminated water flowing over tin cans and scrap iron would dissolve those metals into solution and leave behind almost pure copper.
It was a very simple method of making a lot of money without having to invest too much capital. Montana Resources still uses the exact same “technology” today, pumping Berkeley Pit water and stripping it of its copper content to the tune of about 450,000 pounds per month. At over $3 a pound, you do the math. If your curiosity is piqued, be on notice: We'll do an entire blog on the inaugural Queer Spots story detaling precipitation plants in the future.
The following Queer Spots column, No. 32, is one of my favorites relative to the Clark Fork River. It features Silver Bow Creek and the watershed’s geographic history. Published on October 21, 1906, this is arguably some of the best insight regarding Butte’s home water and the Columbia River's northeastern headwaters. It was printed only 42 years after the first discovery of gold on Silver Bow Creek (1864).
Enjoy the rich rhetorical language of early 20th century journalism and listen for the unmistakable "copper chorus". It’s a shame the newspaper didn’t pay tribute to the author with a by-line. (Note: Because of the story's original length, we will post the first half of it now and add the rest later...stay tuned!)

One of the most remarkable water courses of the state is the one which forms in the Summit valley, skirts the base of the richest mineral hill in the world, tumbles over worked-out placer beds which have yielded millions in gold, helps irrigate the farms in the Deer Lodge valley and then hurries away a thousand or more miles to the sea. That stream is known in this county as Silver Bow creek, and it is formed from the streams which have their sources in the main range of the Rockies which overlook the Summit valley. Throughout the entire valley, from the peaks which tower above the “Horseshoe” bend on the north to the Homestake and Pipestone passes to the south there are a number of little mountain streams, tossing their way through the valley to a common center, which is almost within the city limits of Butte. Principal among these streams are Blacktail Deer creek, Basin creek and Bison Creek, and they all meet to form Silver Bow creek where the Northern Pacific Railway company has its yards, just east of the site of the old Parrot Smelter.

A WINDING COURSE
As Silver Bow creek the water hurries along, keeping at the foot of the hill that has made Butte famous, and follows the natural valley in the foothills west of the town, passing over the old placer beds until a distance of eight miles below Butte is reached, when it plunges into a canyon, through which for a considerable part of the way there is no wagon road and where two railroads have wrestled with Dame Nature in some of her roughest moods in order to gain a thoroughfare. Once through the canyon, Silver Bow creek enters into the valley of the Deer Lodge and a few miles below it loses the name, which is famous the world over as the county in which Butte is located, and takes another, the Deer Lodge river, the contributions from the many side streams giving it a volume of water which justifies that distinction.

IN THE VALLEY
Through one of the fairest valleys in the state Deer Lodge river has its course, bountiful crops and grass meadows marking its way for nearly 30 miles, and again the foothills narrow down and there is almost a canyon. There is located Garrison and there the Little Blackfoot river adds its flow to the Deer Lodge river and the stream becomes known as Hell Gate. On down the valley, in more of a canyon than it is a valley, for nearly half a day’s travel by the fastest train, the stream keeps on its way until finally, just a few miles east of Missoula, the Big Blackfoot river comes rushing out of the mountains and adds its flow of pure water, crystal clear, to the murky tide which has come down from the mines and smelters of the Butte district, and the Missoula River is formed. By that name it is called during the rest of its journey through Montana, and it finally leaves the state at Cabinet to enter Idaho and afterwards lose its identity in Lake Pend d’Oreille. From this body of water the stream which was once known as Silver Bow creek emerges to be called Clark’s Fork of the Columbia and through the Columbia it finds its way into the Pacific Ocean – as a mighty river “rushing onward to the sea.”

THE STREAM'S HISTORY
Along every foot of Silver Bow Creek until it first loses its identity as the Deer Lodge river there are points of interest and historical reminiscences. From the place where the three little streamlets came together in the days when there was not a house to be seen in all of the valley until the present time, cherished memories have clung around the old creek. Time was when Silver Bow creek was a pretty one as it curled around the foot of the hill and dashed along the natural water course in the valley, singing merrily as it thought of the wonderful wealth of gold which it hoarded and which had been carried down from some place in the mountains so long ago that it had no recollection where or how it came to be gathered upon its bedrock. In the valley grass grew and the meadows were smiling and green. Mountain trout slept lazily in its deep pools and darted back and forth in the shallows seeking their food. The deer and antelope came to the creek's edge at evening time and drank fearlessly. Buffaloes laid about in the shade of the willows lazily during the heat of the day, or else, like the domestic cattle of today, they stood knee deep in the water, chewing their cuds contentedly.

"If it can be recalled, it can be restored."
This last description under THE STREAM'S HISTORY, provides a glimpse of what Silver Bow Creek may have resembled prior to the commencement of its use as an industrial sewer, a designation that despite the ongoing restoration efforts, still holds partly true today (Butte-Silver Bow's sewage treatment plant effluent, loaded with nutrients and ammonia, accounts for half of the stream's flow in the summer months).
Not to say we can reasonably count on seeing buffaloes lazily lounging along the Silver Bow Creek Greenway, this hindsight provides an important benchmark for the work to be done.

As ecologist Stephanie Mills states in her book In Service of the Wild, "If it can be recalled, it can be restored."

Check out the nice time lapse photo of Silver Bow Creek near Nissler that Justin Ringsak worked up at the CFWEP website (click here); and you can see raw comparison photos below. The first photo appeared in the Queer Spots of October 21, 1906; the second was taken in October of 2007 and shows the stream post restoration, albeit only a few years growth has established. It's worth noting that the 1906 photo shows a Silver Bow Creek that was hardly pristene; however, it's evident in comparison that the railroad has replaced the former course the stream once followed. (To be continued...)

Silver Bow Creek, looking west, 1906

Silver Bow Creek, looking west, 2007

Silver Bow Creek, looking west, 2007 (wider perspective)

Divides & Watersheds

2007-11-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Three indistinct, slightly blurred figures on inner tubes, lounging their way down a stretch of river. A photograph portraying an alien image, bright green water broken by brownish-red patches. Another photograph of water close-up, barely recognizable, scattering light so diffusely that it could be a painting done by the water itself. A 3-D mountain of reds and yellows, like something out of a sun-baked cartoon. A bulbous writhing mass entitled “It Came from the Berkeley Pit…” A painting of a “cosmic grayling” in many colors and a sort of northwest native style, against a backdrop of red fading to blue.

Those are just some of the nearly 30 art pieces at the Museum of Fine Arts Butte, 405 W Park St, until early November. The show is part of the 1st Annual (we hope) Divides & Watersheds Art Exhibition & Symposium, a public event jointly produced by CFWEP and the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation designed to raise public awareness of regional restoration and watershed issues through art and education. The art exhibition opening reception on Friday, October 5th attracted a few hundred attendees throughout the evening, and the symposium on Saturday the 6th drew about 75 people over the course of the day.

Friday was all about celebrating regional art, and those artists’ perceptions of this last best place, both the untouched landscapes of Montana wilderness and the scarred vistas that provide a visible reminder that our actions have consequences, even those carried out under the good old names of civilization and progress. There was music, too, courtesy of local singer-songwriters Mike Tierney, Tim Mason, David Hobbs and Chad Okrusch. Okrusch and Hobbs’ original tune “The Great Divide” provided the perfect musical introduction for Divides & Watersheds, with the last line of its chorus trailing off into the distance, “…both sides of divide.”

Saturday shifted to a slightly more scientific gear, but a wide variety of film showings and readings gave the day a balanced rhythm. Too much went on to go into detail on every presentation, but some of the highlights included Jen Titus’ presentation on basic stream assessment, which used “streams in a box” to demonstrate differences between healthy and unhealthy river ecosystems; Montana Tech Professor Pat Munday’s (read Pat's ecorover blog here) thorough overview of the environmental and cultural history of the Upper Clark Fork Basin; and lively panel discussions on outdoor and environmental education and watershed and development issues.

The day’s poetry and prose readings ran the gamut, from Sean Eamon’s visceral and rhythmic takes on life in the shadow of smelting, to Phil Atkins’ quiet meditations on wilderness and civilization, to Dean McElwain’s story of winding through life’s divides and stumbling upon insight in the form of “watershed moments” (hear poems read by Sean and Phil here). Prolific Montana writer and activist George Ochenski also dropped in to recount two snorkeling expeditions on the Clark Fork, first with nature writer David Quammen over twenty years ago, and more recently with CFWEP’s own Matt Vincent. Ochenski painted, with usual humor and wit, a picture of a recovering river that should serve as a reminder that we Montanans can effect our environment in constructive and respectful ways. You can read Ochenski’s own account of his expedition with Matt, originally published in the Missoula Independent, by clicking here.

And if that wasn’t enough, Saturday was also full of watershed films. A local contribution from Butte artist Glenn Bodish, “The Wise River”, gave audiences a new way to look at an unspoiled local river by focusing close-up on the details of the river water itself, its sounds and textures as it interacts with the landscape around it. “The Wise River” has little to do with the science or hydrology of the Wise River, but in other, perhaps more important ways, it paints a more complete picture of the river by letting it simply present itself, rather than boxing it in with quantified chemical data or obtuse formulas for things like the total maximum daily load. Not that water chemistry and TMDL aren’t important, they are, but they don’t tell the whole story of the river.

Neither does the film “The Legendary Mountain” tell the whole story of copper mining in Butte, but, by reading between the frames of this Anaconda Mining Company production from 1974, you can get a sense of it. A classic piece of propaganda, “The Legendary Mountain” glorifies copper mining to almost humorous levels. It does accurately reflect some local history, noting the risks and hazards of underground mining, and documenting the change from underground to open-pit mining in Butte in the 1950s. And it also accurately describes just how important copper was to the industrial revolution, to the development of the modern age, and to 20th century war efforts. What “The Legendary Mountain” doesn’t do is discuss the consequences of all that copper and modernization. The Anaconda Company’s dedication to environmental health and preservation is intoned seriously over footage of glorious snowcapped peaks and pristine lakes that bear no resemblance to and are located nowhere near the company’s mining operations. Of course, the datedness of the piece glosses over some of propagandizing, but perhaps “The Legendary Mountain” is best summarized in a particularly hilarious sequence in which the narrator waxes on about the goodness of the Company and its employees over stock footage of people in offices, ending with a shot of two serious old men in suits entering an elevator while a young woman in more casual attire exits, flashing the two executives a smile. The implicit message, and I’m putting words in the filmmakers mouths here, seems to be: “The Anaconda Company… not only are we awesome at mining, but we also love women!” On the other hand, the film offers some exquisite cinematography, particularly in scenes of the smelting process. Some of the results of smelting might not be much to look at, but the filmmakers here make the smelting process itself look downright sublime.

As I wandered about the old Museum of Fine Arts Butte building near the end of the day, watching the last few artists, scientists, and regular folks processing some of what they had experienced, I was struck by the uniqueness of our situation, environmental and cultural, here in western Montana. How often, particularly in these parts of Big Sky country, can you walk into a historic building in an old mining camp, check out a wide variety of fine art and hear some poetry on the first floor, then take a walk upstairs to listen to a presentation on the science of environmental restoration or take in a film portraying the intricate beauties of the Wise River? This merger of science and education with art and entertainment could be possible only in an environment, physical and historical, as rich as the Clark Fork Basin. And what better location for such an amalgamated event than Butte, the mining city, a patchwork itself of high and low culture, wilderness and industry?

The truest success of Divides & Watersheds can be measured by the diversity of those in attendance, and the depth and richness of their experiences living and working in western Montana as active artists and scientists. The contributors to Divides & Watersheds, in their variety, character, and willingness to share their knowledge and creativity, speak to how deeply dug in is that sense of community here near the top of the continental divide. Tally-up all the paintings, photos, sculptures, films, poems, stories, science, history, and experience on display, all coming from the fine folks in and around the Clark Fork, and you would be hard pressed to find a community with more cultural pay dirt to share.

Former congressman and Butte-native Pat Williams’ keynote speech provided a great capstone to the event. Mr. Williams, in a voice that was warm with a subtle riverly rumble, began as a storyteller, recalling old Butte and comparing the energy and culture of those times with the artwork on display. He segued into a discussion of issues important to his Western Progress organization, focusing particularly on the idea of a restoration economy, challenging the old notion that development and environmental protection are mutually exclusive concepts, and pointing the way toward a future Montana that is dependent on neither natural resource extraction or tourism, but a Montana that takes care of itself and its rich landscape. The speech was received with a standing ovation.

I don’t know that any conclusions can be drawn from the response to Divides & Watersheds, but I don’t think that any need to be. The main goal of the event was to get people talking and thinking about what is going on down around that next bend in the river. That’s the first step. The next is between them and the river.

Big Day on the Big Blackfoot

2007-09-26T20:17:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again...chillier temperatures, crisp, colored leaves, bugling bulls and yes, fantastic field trips. Lots and lots of fantastic field trips to unique rivers with even more unique students from around the Upper Clark Fork basin. The sun has peaked over the ridge on yet another CFWEP school year...

Blackfoot Youth Field Day

Go Big, or Go Home. Why not? Let's kick the year off with a 115 fourth through sixth graders from Bonner, Lincoln, Potomac, Helmville, Ovando. That's exactly how we began this field season, and the only thing bigger than the group size was the amount of fun had by all. CFWEP teamed up with the Blackfoot Challenge, Bureau of Land Management and our friends in Missoula, the Watershed Education Network (WEN) to put on the Challenge's annual Blackfoot Youth Field Day at Garnet Ghost Town. We took the lead on the day's content as the theme was "All Things Mining."

Garnet Ghost Town History, historic mining practices, gold panning, mineralogy, stream monitoring and restoration barely scratch the surface of the six station topics that all of the kids and their teachers were treated to on September 12th. A super-hearty thanks go out to Dick Fichtler and Alan Mathews of the BLM, as well as all their staff and to the Challenge's Megan Gale who hosted the event and helped plenty in the planning. Also to NRDP's Greg Mullen; Josh Gubits & Co. from WEN; Gold panner extraordinaire, Ralph Smith and his merry gang; Ginette Abdo from the Mineral Museum; our former, yet not too distant in the least CFWEP leader Colleen Elliott, now of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and last but not least, CFWEP staffers Jen Titus and Justin Ringsak. We'll have lots of photos from this trip and others up soon, so make sure you check back!

Drummond High and Junior High School

Our first standard five-day school stop was on September 20th with Darcy Schindler's 10th and 7th grade classes. Chad Okrusch, The Mining City's answer to James Taylor, Dave Hughes, plus John Dewey, joined the CFWEP staff in favor over working on his dissertation last Thursday to run the macroinvertebrate sampling station. Mr. Schindler's kids were on the case in fine fashion, figuring out the differences in water chemistry, bug populations and vegetation on the Clark Fork as one heads down stream. First stop was on the river near Garrison, just above its confluence with the Little Blackfoot. The second stop was right in the heart of Trojan Country at the Drummond City Park. Many thanks to the Rock Creek Cattle Company for generously allowing access for the area's kids to learn more about their watershed.

Coming up...

DIVIDES AND WATERSHEDS,

Friday, October 5th and Saturday, October 6th.

Best get to the Museum of Fine Arts Butte next weekend! Check out the program line-up here http://www.cfwep.org/divides.html and BE THERE! Too many cool things to list AND...IT'S FREE!!! Bring the family and enjoy some Clark Fork culture!

Other Field Trips coming up...

Butte Central, Misti Cunningham's freshman biology classes, October 2
Anaconda High School, Kate McElroy and Bob Tarkalson's Advanced Biology Classes, Milltown Dam Education Program tour with WEN, October 3
Butte High, Bill Callaghan's Environmental Biology Class, October 9th

Drop us a line at cfwep@mtech.edu or give us a ring 406-496-4832 if you'd like to volunteer or come observe a field trip!

The Cornish Pasty: Just a Meat and Potatoe Pie? Or An Underground Miner's Savory Savior?

2007-09-24T17:55:00.000-06:00

When trying to teach kids about subjects that might seem complicated, like science, it always helps to use anecdotes that relate to things they can easily understand. In working with the students of the Upper Clark Fork basin, helping them to learn the health affects of some of the toxic substances found in mining wastes, like arsenic, lead and mercury, I’ve made it a point to use Butte’s hallmark entrée, the pasty.

Of course, we all like to think of the pasty being as Butte as Butte can be. However, just like the mining that made our town famous, the pasty too hails from some place else.

Cornwall, England. The rich tin and copper mines in this southwestern-most region of the Old Country can be traced to 2000 B.C. Mention of the Cornish pasty can be found as far back as the 1200s. Summing up the role of Mining in their culture is a common Cornish definition: “A mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it.”
When mining began to peter out in Cornwall in the late 1800s, the “Cousin Jacks,” as they were known, emigrated to the mining meccas abroad, like Michigan’s Copper Country and of course, Butte, to carry on their multigenerational skills. They also brought with them the pasty.

So how do you explain the human health affects from heavy metals and arsenic through a hand-held meat and potato pie? It turns out that the Cousin Jacks didn’t just eat pasties because they tasted great and were more filling than any lunch you could take underground.

Talk to anyone who’s worked below or take a peak at a historic photo of the working folk from Butte’s heyday: Underground mining is a dirty business, perhaps the dirtiest of them all. A shift underground would cover you from head to toe and then some in the mine’s dirt, dust, muck and mire. And although they were mining copper, silver, tin, whatever the moneymaker happened to be in the rock, there came with it all the other geologic tagalongs not so desirable, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, toxins that will eventually wreak havoc on a man’s health.

The two major pathways for these poisons to make it into our bodies is either breathing it in (inhalation) or eating it (consumption). Once a man went underground to work, there wasn’t any coming back up to the surface until the end of his day, unless he came up dead or maimed. In the days before respirators and dust masks, there wasn’t much a miner could do to keep from inhaling the metals-laden dusts, save for holding his breath – an impossibility over an entire shift. And there weren’t any faucets or methods of washing away the grime from your face or hands before lunchtime.

Prior to the pasty, miners in Cornwall probably ingested an equal amount of poison for every bite of nourishment he ate at lunch. Chronic diseases from arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals poisoning like cancer, ulcers and Mad Hatter’s disease were traced to the ingestion of these ubiquitous mining toxins early on, but that didn’t mean a miner was going to stop eating underground. Hats off to the Wives of Cornwall for fashioning a tasty solution to the problem.

The traditional Cornish pasty had a pinched crust much thicker than the ones on the pasties we eat today (see top photo). The large, thick crust on the side of the original pasties was put on to serve as a handle, something the miners could hold on to with their filthy hands, while they ate the rest of the pie untouched and therefore, untainted with whatever might be clinging to his fingers.

Another note of difference between today’s pasty and the original is that the first pasties usually had rutabagas or turnips in them along with the standard meat and potatoes, as well as a compartment that held a fruit filling at one end to serve as “dessert.” When the miners were finished eating the filling, all they had to do was chuck the crusty handle and go back to work. It was also said that the throwing of the crust into the mines was a token of bribery or maybe even appreciation to the underground spirits or “knockers,” blamed by the workers for causing rocks to fall on them or other dangerous happenings often resulting in death. There were well over 2,000 men who died in Butte’s underground mines over their operation; this number does not include those who perished from contamination-related disease or other ailments after they came back to the surface. Only the knockers know how many pasty crusts were left behind and eaten.

So the next time you don’t have the time or facilities to wash your dirty hands before eating lunch, grab on to a pasty and don’t forget to leave the crust behind. Your body and tastebuds will thank you...and so will the knockers.

Butte's "Insignificant Mountain"

2007-07-03T13:16:00.000-06:00

The Mining City is surrounded by majestic and interesting landforms: the Highland Mountains, the East Ridge of the Continental Divide, the Big Butte and Timber Butte are all familiar spots on the skyline for the people who call Butte home.
Mother Nature placed an equally imposing geologic signpost of the Summit Valley to the north and east. It shows up in many a photo, but sadly goes unrecognized by the majority.
Rampart Mountain stands sentinel above the rich veins and strongly morphed topography of Montana’s greatest mining landscape, only nobody seems to know her name.
Can I summon up a chorus of David Allen Coe’s “You Never Call Me by My Name”?
Perhaps it is that she fails to bear a covering of trees, a snow-capped peak, a famous lighted letter, or a holy inhabitant like its topographical neighbors. Or maybe it’s because our sights from inside the city are just so trained to look in other directions. Regardless, the fact is as hard as the rock of which she’s made and as cold as the incessant winds that whip her: Rampart bears the notoriety of Butte’s insignificant mountain.
With a summit of 7,789-feet, the treeless Rampart makes up an imposing, starkly contrasting segment of the Continental Divide, possibly the greatest surrounding The Mining City. How her name mostly escapes the masses is a dirty shame. With the exception of the Pipestone area and the Humbug Spires, it also bears some of the most spectacular outcrops that the Boulder Batholith formation has to offer.

Aside her spartan beauty, Rampart bears some additional significance. The Continental Fault, a “young” phenomenon by geologic time standards runs along the western front (facing Butte). That’s why Montana Resources’ current operations are named The Continental Pit. The fault is also responsible for the steep escarpment that likely gave the mountain its name. (Note: look for an upcoming edition on The Continental Fault featuring an interview with Mike Stickney, Director of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology’s Earthquake Studies Office). The word rampart is defined as “a broad embankment raised as a fortification” or a “wall-like ridge” according to Merriam-Webster on-line.
My 12-year old daughter and I recently hiked to the peak of Rampart and took in the most amazing view of Butte’s mining in its entire unappreciated splendor. “WOW,” is the one word that comes to mind.

And despite the lack of trees, there was abundant sign of deer, elk and moose, probably feeding on the productive stands of aspen, bitterbrush and currants that cover the mountain, despite the fact you can’t see them from afar with your naked eye. In fact, there was a Boone & Crockett 200-class mule deer buck bagged on Rampart just a couple of hunting seasons ago.

In my research and runabouts trying to find out more about Rampart, I also learned that the smaller mountain attached to Rampart to the south, the one that is currently being mined by Montana Resources, also has (soon to be had) a name: Sunflower Mountain. Sunflower’s final bloom will be the copper, molybdenum and silver she yields to the world economy and to providing good, reliable labor for the 350 miners of Butte until she’s gone.
However, if the records are right, Butte doesn’t have to worry about losing its Rampart to mineral development. In addition to its new distinction as the “insignificant mountain,” Rampart owns the dubious title of being the center of the least productive mining district in The Treasure State’s storied mining history.
As described on its website, the Montana Abandoned Mines Program says of the East Rampart Mountain or Elk Park mining district,

“Although numerous prospects scattered through the area concentrated on vein mineralization, there has been little additional development even since 1935.
The Butte area to the west and the Basin and Helena area mines to the east were very productive, the area in between, which includes Elk Park (aka East Rampart Mountain), were very minimal mining districts. What little production that has occurred in the district came from two lode mines: the Montreal Star and the Sunset. The Sunset, although rarely active, was developed by the Sunset-National Mining Company in 1906 when a gold and silver bearing ore body was found. No production was recorded until 1935 and 1936 when 87 tons of ore reduced to 64 ounces of gold, 128 ounces of silver, and 8 pounds of copper. Although production records are available only for 1940 to 1942, the Montreal Star produced gold, silver, copper and lead ore…Because the district has produced little if any ore, there has been no attempts in the mining literature to categorize the area as a mining district.”
Just one more reason, I guess, as to answer why Rampart has gone unnoticed. Quite simply, what you see is what you get. And for me, that’s more than enough of a reason for us to start calling her by her proper name.
“And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standing in the rain

But you don't have to call me darlin’, Darlin’
You never even call me by my name"

Chasing Bighorn Sheep & Finding Montana's Hidden Treasures

2007-05-18T14:32:00.000-06:00

As Matt keeps us updated on happenings out west at the River Rally, CFWEP's resident AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer, Justin Ringsak, offers a glimpse into the world of CFWEP research projects in this guest edition of the CFWEP blog.

It is amazing what you can find in Montana if you are willing to get a little sweaty tromping up and down a hillside or two. On an unseasonably warm spring Sunday in southwestern Montana, I joined Matt Vincent (CFWEP Science Coordinator extraordinaire), Bill Callaghan (Butte High School science teacher, CFWEP Advisor, Water Teacher of the Year, and generally good guy) and Butte High students Eric Henrich and Robert Carver to follow along on an expedition to track the radio-collared Bighorn sheep recently transplated to the Highlands Range south and west of Butte by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Eric and Robert are two of a group of about 12 dedicated Butte High students enlisted by wildlife biologist Vanna Boccadori. The students have been working on the project as volunteers for the past few months, heading out on weekends to see what's happening with some of Butte's newest neighbors.

On past trips, car troubles have been the norm. Following the faint beeps of the radio collars requires a good deal of driving up and down some of Montana's rougher roads, and sometimes a slap from the hand of destiny will land your truck in a creek bed or blow a tire. This has been especially true when Bill has been along on the Bighorn tracking trips. But Bill and his karma (or is it car-ma?) had no part in the first car mishap of this trip, as Robert's truck started smoking on I-15 a few miles north of Divide, not ten minutes into our expedition. After some deliberation, it was decided that Robert would, unfortunately, have to head back to town to address the demands of his truck and its smoky tail, while Eric jumped into the trusty ol' Montana Tech standard-issue suburban with me, Bill and Matt. I felt a little sorry for Eric, having to put up with three so-called "authority figures" for the day, but his patience was not without its rewards.

Smoking truck behind us, we drove to a hill on the west side of I-15 near Melrose. Looking back east, we had a wide early morning view of the westslope of the Highland Range, near the Camp Creek and Soap Gulch drainages. Matt and Eric alternately swung the antenna around and listened for the telltale beeps of the Bighorns' radio collars. We did pick up a few faint signals, but it was difficult to determine their direction because of bounce from the hills behind us.

Undeterred, on a hunch and a tip received at a quick pitstop for caffeine in Melrose, we drove east, up into the Camp Creek drainage. It wasn't long before we started to see signs that we were in the right neighborhood. A few miles up the road, next to the Camp Creek reservoir, Matt spotted a lone Bighorn not fifty feet uphill from the road.

This wayward fellow wasn't burdened by a radio collar, and he wasn't too shy, either. He patiently posed for a few photos before trotting up the road at a leisurely pace, pursued slowly by Bill and his camera.

We had found a Bighorn, but not the Bighorns we were searching for. A few more rounds with the antenna and more beeps told us that we were close, but with the steep walls of the Camp Creek drainage looming around us, it was difficult to determine in exactly what direction our sheep were located. So we piled back into the trusty ol' Montana Tech suburban and continued up the road, finally emerging into a fairly wide valley that offered a nice panoramic view of the Highland peaks as seen from the west. While we took a lunch break, a red-tailed hawk glided above us, looking for some lunch of its own. Despite the early time of the season, wildflowers also added some color to the landscape.

From there we looped back to the west, heading down the Soap Gulch road, stopping at a high point to swing the antenna around yet again. The increased volume and frequency of the beeps told us that we were getting close. While we scanned, Matt spotted a coyote across the hilltop. The coyote gave us a quick glance and rambled, in no particular hurry, out of sight. At the roadside, Bill reverted to his former life as a botanist and dug up a mushroom and a wild plant with a thick, possibly edible root.

We had stumbled our way over a ton of interesting distractions, but only one lone, collarless Bighorn Sheep. After a drive halfway down Soap Gulch and still no sheep, we stopped below a rock quarry. Matt and Eric scampered up the ridgeline to do another sweep with the antenna while Bill and I wandered the hillside, observing the variety of vegetation and the colorful geology revealed by the quarry.

Eric and Matt confirmed that we were still on the right trail. Based on their readings, they guessed that we might have better luck if we bore north, up to the top of the ridgeline between Soap Gulch and Moose Creek. We found a road heading in that direction near the bottom of Soap Gulch; it wound up a series of switchbacks along a drainage until it reached the ridgeline. As soon as we reached the open space above the switchbacks, we caught site of a herd of Bighorns on the opposite side of the drainage, just a short distance away from where Matt and Eric had been hiking above the quarry. They had been closer than they realized. As Eric, Bill and Matt trained scopes and binoculars on the sheep to determine their numbers and how many were radio collared, I scampered down the drainage to try for some better photos. At first, the sheep kept their eyes on me as I moved, but they didn't seem too concerned by my presence. As I drew closer, a deer moving up the hill passed by the herd, keeping a wide berth. The Bighorns all turned away from me to watch this passerby- the deer must have been more interesting than me.

With his spotting scope, Eric observed that three of the sheep in this herd were collared, leaving a fourth mystery signal from a sheep we couldn't confirm with a visual sighting, although it seemed likely that the mystery signal came from one of four other sheep we barely spotted higher up the hill. Vanna was particularly interested in finding two radio-collared sheep that hadn't been sighted in the last several weeks, so, with no sign of those two sheep yet, we headed on up the ridge.

A short distance up the road we caught sight of several elk in a patch of trees. They quickly disappeared, but as we continued on Matt spotted a shape darting over the ridgeline. From the size and dark coloration, we guessed it was a wolf who had been stalking the elk. Around another bend we encountered a manhole-sized metal covering in the ground at the roadside. We had seen a few of these elsewhere along the road, and Matt decided to stop the suburban so that we could investigate. He pulled off the lid to reveal a valve on a pipeline, and, more importantly, a black widow spider who had made a home by weaving her web on the inside of the lid. The telltale red hourglass marking on her underbelly stood out against the backdrop of the lid, and, with a body roughly the size of a nickel or quarter, this spider seemed unusually large for the elevation and climate, probably a result of the luxurious hidey-hole she called home.

Matt carefully returned the lid and spider to their proper position, and then it was back into the suburban as the road sloped down toward the Moose Creek drainage. But a few snow drifts gave us pause, and we finally turned around to head back the way we had come, opting to avoid the chance that Bill's karma would get us stuck in the only patches of snow we had seen all day.

But the afternoon still held a few surprises. As we rolled back down to Soap Gulch road and made our way west toward Melrose and I-15, a big rattlesnake, about five feet long, slithered across the road in front of us. We stopped so that Matt and Bill could follow the snake into a nearby patch of sagebrush. Matt and Bill poked at the rattler with a few flimsy twigs. The snake wasn't too enthusiastic about all the attention, and it rose to strike a few times, but, risking life and limb, Matt managed to snap a good picture of it as it was coiled in the sage.

We piled back in to the ol' Montana Tech suburban, but only made it a few hundred yards past the rattlesnake before it became clear that Bill's bad vehicular karma was still with us. The rear driver's side wheel locked up, and a bit of experimenting told us that it wasn't planning on budging anytime soon. But Bill had a guess as to the nature of the trouble- something to do with a "self-regulating brake mechanism." With no cellphone service, we decided to see what we could do. Luckily, the suburban did have a jack and a tire iron, so we raised it up and began to remove the trouble tire. But even this job wasn't without its obstacles. One of the nuts on the tire had been misthreaded, and it was now a permanent fixture on the wheel. Matt managed to put the stubborn nut in its place by completely twisting it off, and we were finally able to get the tire off and take a look at the wheel. It seemed that Bill's diagnosis was correct- several pieces of metal inside were bent and contorted into odd shapes, jamming up and preventing the wheel from turning. Bill assured us that they were non-essential parts, so we took out the remnants, put the tire back on (now one lugnut short), and we were on our way back to Butte strictly via frontage roads, considering the questionable state of the trusty ol' Montana Tech suburban. But it did the job- we made it back without further incident.

Although we never did find the two mystery sheep, the trip couldn't be called anything but a success. That's the wonderful thing about a simple Sunday drive through the Montana backcountry- you might not find what you're looking for, but chances are good that the landscape will lead you to all sorts of unexpected wonders.

Answers to the Noxious Weeds Quiz

2007-04-20T14:24:00.000-06:00

Below are the answers to the 10 photos posted last week as CFWEP's "Know Your Noxious Weeds" Quiz. I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that my job was very easy in that NO ONE tried out their noxious knowledge...zip, nada, nothing!!!?
Of course, the bad news is that we don't have any winners in the War on Weeds and we still have a whole pile of CFWEP stickers to give away.
Don't worry, we'll have more quiz opportunities for you in the future. Hopefully we'll get some participants on the next one!!!

Knowing your noxious weeds is important, as a landowner, a sportsmen or just part of being a well-informed citizen. Here are the answers to the quiz, along with a little extra information on each one:
1. Baby's Breath; NOXIOUS. This pretty, but not too pretty ornamental is commonly seen in floral arrangements. Unfortunately, like a lot of "pretty ornamentals" it is also HIGHLY INVASIVE, especially in disturbed areas. Baby's Breath is not on the Montana Noxious Weed list, but it's a big enough problem in Butte that it's on the Silver Bow County noxious weed who's who. See a vacant lot in Butte? Then chances are, you're probably looking at Baby's Breath too.

2. Houndstongue; NOXIOUS. Houndstongue is a growing problem in a lot of riparian areas and is a Category 1 (that's BAD) Montana Noxious Weed. A native plant to Europe, it contains a toxin that causes liver cells to stop reproducing. And if that's not bad enough, have you ever been "licked" by a houndstongue? If you've ever come home or back to your car from a walk and found dozens of little burrs sticking to your socks, shirt, pants, waders, pretty much anything...YOU'VE BEEN LICKED! Make sure you remove the burrs before going somewhere else: these are the plant's seeds and we don't want to give houndstongue any help in spreading.

3. Spotted knapweed: NOXIOUS. By far the most infamous of Montana's noxious weeds. Category 1: 'Nuff said. If you don't recognize this one, chances are you are a noxious weed yourself.

4. Matrimony Vine; NOXIOUS. This is another one of Butte-Silver Bow's noxious weeds. A strong colonizer of mining contaminated and disturbed areas, this bushy shrub is a beautiful specimen of a noxious weed. It's bright red-orange berries are a spectacular contrast to the pretty purple flower in the photo, and it provides a great source of food and excellent habitat for a variety of song birds and small mammals in Butte, like the feral cat. However...(with noxious weeds, there's always a "however")...the reason this member of the nightshade family got its name is fairly simple: once you have it, you're married to it, so to speak. Its hard to get rid of and it has a unique penchant in the Butte area to find a crack in a vacant building (many times in occupied building's too) foundation and quickly fill the entire basement, attic or any other available living space with bush.

5. Bitterroot; Not Noxious. Also called "rock rose" the bitterroot as you should know is Montana's state flower.

6. Field bindweed (aka Morning Glory); NOXIOUS. Another pretty but dangerous plant. Field bindweed, a member of the morning glory family, forms thick mats along the ground in a lot of pastures and other disturbed landscapes. It, like knapweed and houndstongue, is a Category 1 Montana Noxious weed.

7. Plains Prickly Pear; Not Noxious. How would you like to go for a barefoot jog across a prairie full of this sticky fellow? John Colter did. One of Montana's only native succulents, this cactus has a showy yellow bloom early in the summer (June).

8. Truffula Tree; Not Noxious. For those of you who are Dr. Suess fans, here is the victim of Geisel's classic book, The Lorax. "The touch of their tufts is much softer than silk and they have the sweet smell of fresh butterfly's milk." I have yet to find one growing in Montana.

9. Leafy Spurge; NOXIOUS. Because of its ridiculous invasiveness and the even more ridiculous difficulty in controlling its infestations, Leafy Spurge just might be Public Enemy No.1 when it comes to noxious weeds. Spurge can "pop" its seeds several meters and its roots have been documented to extend as deep as 20 feet into the soil. With these two methods of invasion, spurge is one tough customer, earning it a Category 1 listing.

10. Purple Loosestrife; NOXIOUS. This is a Category 2 Montana Noxious Weed list. A riparian invader, it is also a "pretty" noxious species, another escaped European ornamental. You can see from the photo that when loosestrife finds an area it likes, nothing else stands a chance.

These are just a handful of the weeds that are marching their way across Montana. I strongly urge you to spend a few minutes on the Department of Agriculture's Montana Noxious Weeds website at http://agr.state.mt.us/weedpest/noxiousweeds.asp . There is lots of interesting information here, as well as a list of contacts who could come to your class to help you learn more!
That's it for the quiz...
As a fun exercise to get your in-quiz-itive minds in shape for CFWEP's next test, I invite you all to take the Fish, Wildlife and Parks' easy to use, on-line Bear Identification test. Here's the link: http://fwp.mt.gov/bearid/default.html
It's somewhat of a secret (maybe it's not), but most mountain ranges in western Montana have at least some grizzly bears. The FWP quiz is a requirement for anyone wanting to hunt black bears. But it's also a good test of your bear identification skills. Is it a black bear or a grizzly? You need an 80% to pass...See how well you do!

"Know Your Noxious Weeds" Quiz

2007-04-11T12:08:00.000-06:00

Just for fun, below are 10 photos of plants. Identify them all and tell us which ones are listed as noxious weeds in Montana and which ones are not. (Note: they may not be on the state weeds list, but all of the noxious ones pictured below are on at least one of the 56 counties' lists.) Name and list all 10 correctly, and you win a CFWEP sticker!! Not to mention, you'll be a little bit more the wiser in the endless "War on Weeds."

1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.
10.

Good luck! When you think you have all the answers, send them to me at mvincent@mtech.edu (be sure to include your mailing address if you want a sticker!). I'll post the answers...and our winners, next Friday.

Noxious Weeds: Where Are They Going To Show Up NEXT??

2007-04-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

This column we are pleased to welcome our first guest blogger: Soil scientist Tom Keck of Bozeman. Keck received his PhD in Soil Science from Montana State University in 1998 and was the lead field scientist for several years collecting the data for Silver Bow County's soil survey. He currently works in Bozeman as a Soil Scientist for his own company, Northern Rockies Soil and Water. Tom is also a valuable cooperating scientist with CFWEP, helping improve place-based science education in the Clark Fork basin as a summer teacher training instructor (see photo). If you're reading this and are a scientist living or doing research in the Clark Fork and would like to contribute a guest blog, drop me a line at mvincent@mtech.edu . We'd love for you to help us spread science through the valley!

In the “War on Weeds”, spotted knapweed and leafy spurge stand out as the major weed control challenges in Silver Bow County. Each weed has infested thousands of acres in the county and there is potential for them to infest even greater acreages.

Weed infestation reduces property values, increases soil erosion, reduces areas’ ability to support wildlife or domestic livestock and presents tremendous weed control costs. Countywide, the government currently spends nearly $400,000 annually on weed control efforts; this does NOT include additional costs that individual landowners pay to control weeds on their own. Noxious weeds are an expensive issue to say the least!

Weed species often appear to be everywhere in infested areas. Spotted knapweed in the Butte area provides a good example. Once you learn to identify this species (pictured below), it seems to be growing everywhere you look. On closer inspection, however, you can find areas in and around Butte where spotted knapweed is not doing so well. There are many sites where it is completely missing, while in other areas, native plants are at least holding their own against the noxious invader.

An ongoing study funded by the Mile High Conservation District through the Conservation Districts Grant Program has been using field data from numerous locations in Silver Bow County to look at patterns in the distributions of spotted knapweed and leafy spurge relative to landscape, plant community and soil properties. The study looks at habitat preferences in existing infestations to gain a better understanding of how these weed species would be expected to behave on sites that have not yet been infested. The immediate goal is to find differences among habitats in the potential for future infestation by spotted knapweed or leafy spurge.

This research could ultimately lead to development of site specific strategies for weed management. In such an approach, the combination of weed control methods used for a species such as leafy spurge on a dry, rocky hillside would likely be quite different from those methods used to control spurge along a moist drainage bottom. Identifying habitat differences is a first step. While some of the results found in the current study were expected, others have been quite interesting.

Both spotted knapweed and leafy spurge originated in grasslands of Eurasia. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the highest infestation levels found in Silver Bow County were in grassland areas. Neither species is very competitive on forested or riparian (near stream) sites in our area. Woodland areas, with open Douglas-fir stands, are intermediate in terms of infestation potential. Neither weed species likes to get their feet (roots) wet for long. This explains their relative absence in consistently wet soils along streams and in other wetlands areas.

Elevation, slope steepness and slope direction (aspect) have a strong influence on the occurrence of both spotted knapweed and leafy spurge in Silver Bow County. The highest infestation levels for spotted knapweed occur below 5,800 feet in elevation while moderate infestations levels were found up to 6,600 feet. For leafy spurge, the highest infestation levels are restricted to elevations below 5,600 feet. South facing slopes (hot and dry) were the most favorable for spotted knapweed while leafy spurge was most prevalent on level to gently sloping areas (deeper soils; deposition areas). Both species appear to be least competitive on north facing slopes.

Overall, the worst leafy spurge infestations were found on very deep well drained (normally dry) soils along drainage corridors. This was especially true where basin wild rye was the primary grass species present. The second most common occurrence was on droughty, shallow soils on volcanic hills such as along portions of I-90 in northwestern Silver Bow County. While leafy spurge fairs poorly on soils formed from decomposed granite, spotted knapweed does especially well on the very deep, coarse textured granite soils common in the Summit Valley.

Those are just a few of many results. At the conclusion of this work, maps will be produced through the Butte-Silver Bow GIS Department showing infestation potential throughout the county. This information will be used to target weed control activities and to support future research on site specific weed control strategies.

As a landowner or tenant, you should be aware of noxious weeds growing on your property. Know how to identify weeds, at least spotted knapweed (below left) and leafy spurge (below right). Scout your property regularly and note their presence if you find them. Pay special attention to where they are growing and begin weed control or encourage the landowner to begin weed control as soon as possible. Remember, early detection and control is by far the most cost effective means to fight noxious weeds. The sooner you get them, the less likely they will be to spread out of control. There is a reason they call them invasive: Weeds infestations will continue to grow if left unchecked and the cost of control grows with them the longer you wait to take action. For more information, please contact the Butte-Silver Bow Weed Control Office at 497-6460 or weeds@bsb.mt.gov.

The Milltown Dam

2007-01-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Now is the time to go to Bonner to see the Milltown Dam and Reservoir before it is gone. The reservoir is already effectively gone and with construction on the Clark Fork by-pass channels already underway, it won't be long (probably a couple years) before the whole area looks completely different.

Following is a story I wrote that appeared first in The Butte Weekly paying historical respect to the Milltown structure, as well as some forward speculation of what might happen during its removal. Let's be clear: once the dam is gone, the confluence of two of Montana's greatest rivers - The Clark Fork and the Blackfoot -- will be restored and the future of its fisheries will be bright as its been in over 100 years.

Coincidentally, CFWEP in partnership with Missoula's Watershed Education Network (WEN) has just completed the Milltown Education Project. The Milltown project, which was run on the ground by WEN and administered by CFWEP, took schools from Missoula, Bonner and Anaconda on field trips to the dam and reservoir and provided over 100 students with an educational experience at Milltown during its important transformation.
CFWEP is continuing trips to the site, with a date scheduled later this month for 45 Butte High students and a tentative trip for Powell County High students being planned for February.

Read the story and if you still want to learn more, the Missoula County Environmental Health Department (http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/wq/Milltown_Dam/Milltown%20Dam.htm), the Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee (www.cfrtac.org) and the Clark Fork Coalition (www.clarkfork.org) websites all have more information. EPA project manager Russ Forba and the Natural Resource Damage Program's Doug Martin are also great contacts and can be reached at their respective offices in Helena.

The Milltown Dam and the 1908 Flood

If the EPA, State of Montana and construction contractor Envirocon get their ways – with a little cooperation from Mother Nature – the century-old Milltown Dam will be removed from the Clark Fork River sometime in 2008.

The Milltown, as Norman McLean would say, is located “at the junction of great trout rivers” (the Blackfoot and Clark Fork) just 7 miles upstream of Missoula near the burg of Bonner. The structure stands as the downstream extent of the nation’s largest contiguous complex of federal Superfund sites, beginning over 100 miles upstream in Butte.

Since the dam was completed in December 1907, it has been the holding stop for all of the contaminated sediments flowing from the Anaconda Company’s mega-mining operations in Butte and Anaconda. This amounts to nearly 7 million cubic yards of contaminated sediments (note: 1 cubic yard = 1 pick-up truck load). Roughly a third of this total – over 2 million yards of the most contaminated sediments – will be removed and sent on a train back upstream to the historic waste impoundment known as the Opportunity Ponds.

Also to be dumped at the Opportunity site will be over 4 million cubic yards of tailings scraped from the floodplain of Silver Bow Creek and anything else nasty that’s removed from the 800-plus acres designated for remediation in the stretch of the upper Clark Fork River between Warm Springs and Garrison.

That’s a lot of contamination. But it’s nothing to the Opportunity Ponds.
The Ponds served as the waste disposal unit during the majority of life of the 585-foot Washoe Smelter in Anaconda. In fact, they aren’t “ponds” anymore, but more accurately a 10-square mile area of blighted desert. To be clear, the volume of wastes being dumped in Opportunity from the various Superfund cleanups can be compared to adding an additional tablespoon of waste to a 5-gallon bucket full. It’s just not that big of a deal – not until it comes time to clean up the Opportunity Ponds.

So let’s switch our focus back downstream to Bonner. In 2003 with then-governor Judy Martz’s stamp of approval, it was decided in the EPA’s Record of Decision to remove the Milltown Dam and a bunch of its contaminated sediments.

Why?

The reasons are many and they’re good ones:

· The dam and its sediments create a groundwater contamination plume of arsenic in the town of Bonner;
· The dam is old and unstable and it blocks the passage of native fish to spawning tributaries in both the Blackfoot and Upper Clark Fork river drainages;
· Fixing the dam properly would cost nearly as much as tearing it out and contaminated sediments wouldn’t be removed to the full extent needed.
· The dam, even in optimum condition, doesn’t generate a significant amount of electricity to justify its existence.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Let it be known that when the Milltown Dam is removed, so will be one of the last standing significant remnants of Butte’s mining history in the basin.

Q. Who do you suppose was responsible for building the Milltown Dam?

A. William A. Clark.

Q. And why do you think he built it?

A. To keep the copper coming out of the ground in Butte.

This was indirectly done by supplying electricity to his lumber mills in Bonner and Missoula (one, good producing underground mine in Butte went through a trainload of timber every week), which also indirectly electrified and helped grow The Garden City in its early days. The Milltown Dam – one of the first major river dams constructed in the Columbia drainage – also marked the birth of the Montana Power Company. Furthermore, Marcus Daly built the first dam in the Upper Clark Fork basin on the Blackfoot just upstream from Bonner about 20 years before Milltown. Coincidentally, Daly’s dam, built to slow down floating logs so they could be retrieved by his own lumber mill, was torn out last fall in preparation for the Milltown’s removal; Bob Gannon removed the Montana Power Company in 2001 in preparation for his own mysterious disappearance.

Built using the standard “timber crib” technology of the day, the Milltown was an engineering stalwart, garnering lofty boasts from its chief financier, Mr. Clark just after its completion. Clark was quoted in the Daily Missoulian to the effect that the Milltown Dam was solid as a rock and would stand through thick and thin, forever more.

Damned if Mother Nature wasn’t listening and just so happened to be in the mood for a fight.

Just a few months after the construction of Milltown Dam was completed, the Clark Fork witnessed the largest flood its pale-faced inhabitants had ever seen. That spring of 1908 the river gorged to 46,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), carrying away near everything in its widened path (Note: the USGS stream gauge below the dam currently reads ~1,700 cfs or roughly four percent of the 1908 flood). Trees, bridges, fences, animals, pert near anything in the flood’s way that wasn’t nailed down and nailed down good. And there were also tailings. Lots and lots of tailings, the result of decades of dumping from mines, smelters and concentrators of The Richest Hill on Earth. It’s fair (and accurate) to say that the majority of contaminants now requiring cleanup in the Silver Bow Creek and upper Clark Fork’s floodplains were deposited in this one storm event.
One big flood + the improperly disposed wastes of the World’s largest mining camp = 120 miles of intense river damage.

As for Mr. Clark’s timber-crib dam, sturdy as it may have seemed to men, it didn’t stand a chance against a taunted and scorned Mother Nature (see photo). The massive flows topped the dam and the river began filling the powerhouse at an alarming rate. With standing water inside the dam control house reaching four feet, something had to be done quickly. Being a mining magnate has its benefits in dire times such as these.

Clark summoned a team of Butte’s underground miners – contracted as explosive experts in this case – to hurry downstream to the rescue. In order to relieve the dooming pressure on the dam and save Clark’s flooding powerhouse and the sole generation source of the infant Montana Power Company, the miners carefully and strategically blasted the south side of the dam to smithereens.

The river temporarily and partially ran free, saving the Milltown structures. Crews and horses spent the rest of the year and into 1909 reconstructing the dismantled dam; less intensive repair efforts were required standard from flood damages until MPC finally applied a concrete veneer over the timber frame in the early 1980s.

Shortly after the dam was veneered, arsenic was detected in the domestic wells of several Bonner/Milltown residents. Ever since science has been slowly but surely been leading policy makers toward the ultimate decision in 2004 to take out the state’s largest toxic sediment trap, thereby saving one town’s drinking water and paving the way to restore the confluence of two of Montana’s greatest rivers.

The estimated clean-up price tag: $111.6 million, which is the projected cost to remove the dam and powerhouse and 2.2 million cubic yards of the nastiest sediments to be sent to Opportunity; and the rebuilding/restoration efforts of putting the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot back into their new, man-made “natural” stream beds. This cost was estimated using several assumptions, the largest one being that Mother Nature will cooperate.

The devastation that followed the wake of the 1908 flood has not been witnessed since on the Clark Fork or any other river in southwest Montana for that matter. To most of us we call that type of storm “the big one.” Hydrologists have a slightly more scientific term: the 100-year flood.

By a non-hydrology definition, the 100-year flood is a flood which on the average will be equaled or exceeded once every 100 years. More accurately, it should be defined as the “1% flood,” because it has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.

It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that right about the time the dam is being removed it will be statistically right about time for us to expect the upper Clark Fork to get its next big flood. What would happen if Mother Nature decided to strike her wrath twice in the same place?

In regards to stream restoration and general land reclamation projects, if She decides it’s time for a 100-year flood in 2008, the estimated cost of completing the Milltown dam removal and restoration can reasonably double. And that’s not counting the additional costs of damage to the downstream Clark Fork and any equipment that might get swept away.

Reclamation/restoration projects need time to stabilize before they can be expected to handle a storm – any storm. Vegetation needs to mature and kinks need to be worked out. If one were to ask an expert how long he/she would reasonably guess this time would be to achieve stability in order for the project to survive the impacts of a 100-year flood the answers would range no less than five years to upwards of 20.

In short, we need to go ahead with the work as planned and hope for the best in terms of Mother Nature’s cooperation. Though in hindsight, we shouldn’t taunt her with any promises of invincibility. After all, the Clark Fork belongs to her and it’s up to her what fate she has in store. At least this century around we’re trying to expedite her work rather than impede it.