Montana

A plague of private ponds – the latest threat to Montana's fish and rivers • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

A plague of private ponds – the latest threat to Montana's fish and rivers • Daily Montanan

Most Montanans would be surprised to hear there are more than 10,000 private ponds across our state — a state which is internationally known for its sparkling rivers and wild trout fisheries. One might also wonder why Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is approving 200 more private ponds every year – one a day for each working day at the agency.

Yet, those numbers are real as related to a legislative interim committee by Eileen Ryce, the Department’s Fisheries Division Administrator whose job is to regulate the ponds and, more importantly, what fish get put in those ponds.

But it’s tough to regulate when there are hardly any regulations — and when it comes to importing fish for private ponds, Montana’s regulatory structure barely exists. It’s so bad Ryce is justifiably worried that tragedies will ensue as people have fish and the water they’re in shipped in from hatcheries all across the nation — and that happens more than a hundred times a year, not counting illegal shipments.

Simply put, hatcheries are designed for exactly one purpose – to grow as many fish as possible in as quickly as possible. And therein lies the rub. Because hatcheries concentrate far more fish into far less space than any natural river, lake, or stream, they have significant problems with diseases.

Montanans who have been around for awhile will recall the outbreak of whirling disease on Montana’s Upper Madison River a few decades back that wiped out the rainbow trout. But few know that Montana frequently received both fish and eggs from Colorado hatcheries, where biologists knew their hatcheries had whirling disease but believed it was a “hatchery disease” that wouldn’t survive in the wild.

Not only did they continue to plant numerous streams and rivers in Colorado with diseased fish, Montana routinely received both fish and eggs from Colorado hatcheries and planted them in Montana’s waters — including Hebgen Lake, which is directly upstream from the Upper Madison. Just coincidence? Hardly.

So when it comes to private parties buying fish to stock their ponds from out-of-state hatcheries, the chance for diseases such as whirling, or any number of diseases common to hatcheries, is far from minimal. According to the regulations, those hatcheries only have to be inspected annually – and Montana’s private ponds get a license for 10 years between inspections.

Disease, however, is only one of the threats. The other is illegal introduction of species that are not allowed in Montana and are wholly inappropriate to be located near or in the flood plains of our major rivers. Yes, in the floodplain — and Fish, Wildlife and Parks is indeed approving private ponds located in the flood plain, as well as outflows and groundwater connected to streams and rivers.

It would be great to say Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is so competent that none of these threats will materialize. But one only need to look at the agency’s introduction of mycis shrimp into Flathead Lake that wiped out the once abundant salmon fishery and completely changed the aquatic ecosystem to prove that assumption false.

Agencies make mistakes — and they make a lot more when they don’t even have adequate regulations to follow. Approving “a pond a day” basically ensures Montana’s world-famous rivers will be plagued by disease and illegal species introductions — and in this case, forewarned is not forearmed.

So what can we do? Fish, Wildlife and Parks should put a moratorium on new private pond approvals until a realistic and workable regulatory structure is in place. After all, what’s the rush? There are plenty of rivers and lakes to fish, so why risk the potential for disaster?

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Montana

Live Updates: Montana State leads SFA 7-0 in the first quarter

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Live Updates: Montana State leads SFA 7-0 in the first quarter

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Montana

Frigid Friday – several inches of snow in parts of the area

Published

21 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Frigid Friday – several inches of snow in parts of the area

A band of moderate snow has formed from the Cut Bank area, extending southeast across Chouteau, Fergus, and Judith Basin Counties. Be alert for low visibility and slick road conditions. Icy conditions continue in Lewis & Clark and Broadwater counties, where snow fell on top of ice after some freezing rain overnight. Up to a 1/4″ of ice has been reported on cars and sidewalks. Freezing rain may mix in again this morning as milder air begins to move back in.

Today’s Forecast:

Frigid Friday, several inches of snowfall in parts of the area-Friday, December 12

It will be a frigid today, with high temperatures in the 0s and lower 10s across central and eastern Montana, and mid to upper 30s in Helena.

The snow band will continue throughout the day, bringing several inches of snow to areas east of I-15. The band of snow will gradually push east tonight, impacting Blaine, Phillips, and Valley counties overnight. Snow showers taper off by Saturday morning.

MTN News

Expect difficult driving conditions through Saturday morning, especially east of I-15 and into the mountains.

Arctic air slowly retreats north on Saturday. Temperatures start off in the -10s to near 0 on the Hi-Line and in the 0s for central Montana, then climb to the 0s and 10s for the Hi-Line and 10s to 20s in central Montana by Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, it will be a pleasant weekend in Helena with temperatures in the low 40s. A gusty breeze develops on Sunday, as temperatures warm nicely into the low to mid 40s in central Montana and into the 30s in northeast Montana.

Looking ahead to next week, mild and windy conditions kick off the workweek, followed by active weather returning midweek.

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Montana

Atmospheric river drives flooding in northwest Montana

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Atmospheric river drives flooding in northwest Montana

Warm temperatures and an “atmospheric river” of precipitation that flowed into northwestern Montana this week have generated a state of emergency in Montana’s northwesternmost county, Lincoln, as local waterways run unseasonably high.

Around 12 p.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service started issuing flooding watches as area snowpack sites reported 24-hour precipitation totals that were approaching record levels. NWS meteorologist Dan Borsum told Montana Free Press Thursday that the “rain-on-snow” nature of the recent precipitation has led to widespread flooding.

Borsum called the weather pattern “unusual” for mid-December, instead likening it to a warm April.

Zach Sherbo, the public health manager for the Lincoln County Health Department, said in a Thursday afternoon phone call that additional precipitation is expected through Thursday evening, so rivers could continue rising into Friday.

The Lincoln County communities of Libby and Troy have been hit the hardest by the deluge, which prompted emergency services personnel to issue a state of emergency Thursday afternoon. Residents are cautioned against unnecessary travel and those served by the Libby city water supply are under a boil-water order as a precaution in the event of water supply contamination. School has also been canceled for students in Libby and Troy, Sherbo said.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department has identified a handful of bridges that have been compromised or are washed out as a result of flooding. It suggests residents looking for information on road closures and bridge conditions review an interactive map that is available online and linked in a press release posted to the Lincoln County Health Department’s Facebook page.

“It’s going to take a long time to recoup from this, just structurally, just with the bridges we’ve lost already and the condition that they’re in and going toward,” Sherbo said. “It’s a pretty big combined local effort right now.”

Justun Juelfs, the Kalispell-area maintenance chief with the Montana Department of Transportation said three stretches of state-managed roadways were closed or under monitoring status as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

An approximately 80-foot section of the Farm to Market Road south of Libby has washed out as Libby Creek carved a new channel. MDT is also monitoring erosion that is occurring along a U.S. Highway 2 bridge southeast of Libby and along a section of Highway 56 near Bull Lake. Juelfs encouraged motorists to review MDT’s road conditions report for up-to-date information on impacts to state highways.

The Army Corps of Engineers is assisting with sandbag-filling and distributing efforts and the Red Cross has set up a shelter for those in need at the Assembly of God Church in Libby, according to Sherbo.

The Montana Disaster and Emergency Services agency is also lending a hand with the flood response. In an email to MTFP, Anette Ordahl with DES wrote that a district field officer and a recovery coordinator are on the ground in Libby to offer assistance.

In a Thursday afternoon press release, Gov. Greg Gianforte noted that Sanders and Flathead counties have also recognized the flooding by issuing emergency or disaster declarations. Up to four inches of additional rainfall are expected across western and south-central Montana, according to a disaster declaration Gianforte’s office included in a 3 p.m. press release.

The National Weather Service reported Thursday morning that the Bear Mountain snowpack monitoring site, located just across the border in Idaho, received 6.5 inches of precipitation as of this morning, making it the third-wettest 24-hour period for the site in its 44-year monitoring history. The six-day precipitation total for Dec. 6-11 is 13 inches.

Borsum, with the National Weather Service, said the recent, unseasonable warm spell in western Montana combined with the “super strong” atmospheric river to melt early season snowpack and drive flooding. A similar rain-on-snow event in early June of 2022 led to widespread flooding in parts of south-central Montana that required extensive repairs to roadways and bridges.

Thursday, the Yaak River near Troy surpassed its official flood stage, running at more than 7,500 cubic feet per second. Its usual volume for this time of the year is about 200 cfs.

The Fisher River near Libby was also nearing flood stage. As of Thursday afternoon, it was running at nearly 4,000 cfs, more than 20 times its usual volume for mid-December.

Zeke Lloyd and Jacob Olness contributed to this reporting.

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