Rolling Stones Fundraiser for theRiver Rat Fly Fishing & Conservation Camp

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!

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

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.

Identifying Montana Trout

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

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

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