by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 18, 2008 | Bitterroot, iiii Winter/Snow
Bear Creek is on the west side of the Bitteroot Valley near Victor. This week temperatures were about zero during the day and minus 16 during the night. We have plenty of water from the previous rains and now it is turning to ice. It is beautiful, but where are all the fish to go?
Click here to read a paper titled Role of Stream Ice on Fall and Winter Movements and Habitat Use by Bull Trout and Cutthroat Trout in Montana Headwater Streams.
An excerpt from the Conclusion: Complex mixes of habitat are needed to maintain suitable fall and winter habitat for stream resident bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout populations. Beaver ponds, deep pools, and submerged cover of large woody debris (LWD), boulders, and undercut banks are important components of this mix. Bull trout appear particularly susceptible to loss of habitat complexity. In the Bitterroot River drainage, bull trout are rare in watersheds with a high degree of disturbance (Clancy 1993) and without LWD or pools (Rich 1996). Shallow, wide streams not only lack suitable winter cover, but also promote subsurface ice formation (Chisholm et al. 1987; Brown et al. 1994). In degraded areas, activities that moderate fluctuations in winter stream temperature (i.e., riparian vegetation restoration) and that create deep water habitats (i.e., beaver reintroduction) may help alleviate poor winter habitat conditions.
It is a scientific paper, a dry read, but if you are interested in trout habitat, you will find it very informative, yet there is still much to learn about ice and trout survival.
After I created this post, I remembered a photo I had taken on Sweathouse Creek in November. This is from the property that butts against Forest Service near the trailhead for Sweathouse Creek.
There is a county bridge (actually culverts topped with road gravel) across Sweathouse right here. These people just bought the chunk of land that is on both sides of the creek. They can access all of their land by the county bridge, but they wanted their own bridge. They got permission to build it. In the process, they are reaming out an area of the creek where they will are building a winding road and footings and a bridge.
You are seeing some of the woody debris and plant material that they have removed. I find it horrific that they did this. After reading the paper above, I am more disturbed about it. Just my opinion.
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 17, 2008 | Friends, iii Fall, Other
Jeff Rogers lives in Victor, Montana and fishes with us regularly.
Note from Billy:
Hey Merle!
I told my great buddy Jeff Rogers I would send these to you. They are shots of him at a secret spot in Canada this past Sept. fishing for steelhead with his dad. Looks like I have probably been “bested” by him, for life, in the flyrod category. Please tell Jack “hi” and Merry Christmas to you and yours! ………Billy Burk
Billy, thanks for sending these photos in.
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 7, 2008 | iiii Winter/Snow
To see all my “Elk Blogs” click on the “elk” hotlink in the “Labels” area at the footer of this blog entry or on the Label section on the right sidebar.
It is December in Montana. Deer and elk hunting season is closed except for a few districts that have been extended, the closest for us being south near Dillon, MT. Click here for a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks link.
The strange thing is how warm it has been. We have had moisture, but in the form of rain except for some snow at high elevations.
Instead of cross country skiing, Jack and I are still hiking for fitness and recreation. I am uploading a few photos/slideshows of game we are seeing on our hikes.
We see elk mostly on the way to our hike. They have lost security in the mountains (new roads, new construction, much hunting pressure) and oddly seek security in the open, private pastures and ranches. Good for viewing, not so good for hunting. I imagine they eat a lot of grass and hay the ranchers probably need… There are about 9 spike bulls in this group. This means they have no brow tines and are young, not mature bulls.
Mature bulls stay away from cows and calves most of the year. During calving season, the cows are scattered widely in small groups. I see them on my hikes in the mountain drainages above these ranches. That is when thermal cover and security from the forest (not the open fields) is important to these elk. Once the spotted calves are able to walk, the females will then assemble into larger groups. It is common to see 30, even close to 100 elk in herds near here from July until calving season. Elk are shy and very suspicious of human beings unless accustomed to them since birth as in the case of this herd. They are still suspicous and wiley, but know they are relatively safe near ranches.
Click here for a great Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation article.
For larger views, click on “View Album.”
Click here for information about Downey Woodpeckers.
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 7, 2008 | Conservation/benefits/organizations
Here is a great idea for Christmas!
World renown artist, Monte Dolack, painted this as a limited edition for the Bitter Root Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Hamilton, Montana.
- Prints #2-5 $500
- Prints #43-225 $175
100% of the proceeds for Prints 1-225 and the Publisher Proofs go directlyto BRTU Education and Habitat Projects.
View Print and learn about the artist at Monte Dolack’s website http://www.montedolack.com/.
You can purchase a print at Monte’s site or by contacting BRTU President, Geoff Fitzgerald at fitzes91@yahoo.com. More BRTU contact information is available on the BRTU blog.
More questions? Contact us at wapiti@wapiti-waters.com or 800-254-5311.
This is a great cause and a great connection to the Bitterroot and Montana. BRTU does amazing work with youngsters and landowners in education and rehab of our rivers and streams.
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 2, 2008 | Friends
Billy Burk comes up to fish with his friend and our neighbor, Jeff Rogers. We hope he comes back soon. He is a ton of fun, always a happy face. Here is a note from Billy about this photo.
Hey Merle and jack! Just a note to wish you well. Hope you are happy and content this holiday season. Sorry I didn’t make it up there this year, next year I will make a concerted effort to show up and fish circles around Jeff!
Attached is a photo of a nice Cutbow I landed Saturday on the Arkansas River, close to my home. Tight lines!..
.Billy
Billy just sent me another one! I love it that it includes his son, Ryan!
note from Billy: Hey Merle, I will include one more photo with this e-mail, then I had better leave room for someone else! This is a pic. of my son Ryan, and I, at the end of a successful pheasant and quail hunt in Kansas. Our Vizsla’s, Shy and Yoshi, love it as much as we do! Those deep sea fishing photos were from my trip with the Rogers’ to Mexico in August. Thanks for a great website and blogger!!!! .Billy
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 1, 2008 | hunting/fauna/flora
Monday Night: Planets Align in a Frown
By Clara Moskowitz
The graphic is from the above web article. It is an excellent article, short and easy to read. Click on the title/link and it will open in a new window.
I am also adding a slide show of my photos in a few different exposures. Yes, we saw it in the southwest sky about 6:00 pm and it was not visible by 7:30 pm – the planets set down behind our Bitterroot Range.
To best view the slide show, click “view album”, then “slideshow.” You might need to pause the picture to be sure it loads all the way.
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 1, 2008 | Friends
Well, Dr. Paul. Finally, here is a post about you! You were nice enough to send us an amazing photo from your trip to New Zealand a few years ago. Now, I am compelled to share that photo. Click on the photo for a larger view. Why don’t we have photos of you in Montana? Well, we will have to talk about that.
by Merle Ann Loman | Nov 30, 2008 | Conservation/benefits/organizations
Click here for the
Western Native Bull Trout website showing a bull trout location map and an assessment document.
Once again, our friend and New Heathens band member, Nate Schweber in New York (but from Missoula) has impressed me with his social blogging.
An excerpt of Nate’s blog: A Canadian mining company wants to dig up coal at the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park. I go fishing there every summer. Boooo! Read on for his “double boo” and “triple boo.” Please visit his blog about Canadian Coal vs Bull Trout.
Click here for a Missoulian newspaper story,
Canada: Mine planned atop habitat for bull trout By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian.
Nate found the story and has the link on his website (thank you Nate).
by Merle Ann Loman | Nov 30, 2008 | Conservation/benefits/organizations
Click here for the
Western Native Bull Trout website showing a bull trout location map and an assessment document.
Once again, our friend and New Heathens band member, Nate Schweber in New York (but from Missoula) has impressed me with his social blogging.
An excerpt of Nate’s blog: A Canadian mining company wants to dig up coal at the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park. I go fishing there every summer. Boooo! Read on for his “double boo” and “triple boo.” Please visit his blog about Canadian Coal vs Bull Trout.
Click here for a Missoulian newspaper story,
Canada: Mine planned atop habitat for bull trout By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian.
Nate found the story and has the link on his website (thank you Nate).
by Merle Ann Loman | Nov 26, 2008 | iiii Winter/Snow
