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

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

Published

6 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

It’s the talk of the town this week — powerful winds ripped the roof off Lincoln Elementary School on Sunday, leaving students, teachers, and residents in shock.

The incident has sparked concern among homeowners who are now worried about how such weather damage could impact their own homes—and what their insurance would cover.

According to Tauna Locatelli, owner of Advantage Insurance, most insurance policies have a set deductible for things like fire or theft, but wind and hail damage deductibles are often much higher, or even based on a percentage of a property’s value.

Quentin Shores reports – watch the video here:

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

“Right now our industry is going through a really challenging time, especially when it comes to wind and hail in Montana. Several carriers are going to a standard ‘all peril’ deductible for everything other than wind and hail. So, it could be $1,000 for all but wind and hail, $2,500 wind and hail,” Locatelli explained.

A deductible is the amount homeowners must pay before insurance covers the rest. For wind and hail, that deductible can be steep.

“Some companies are going 1 or 2% of a coverage value, so that’s the building value. If it’s insured for $500,000 and you have a 1% deductible, you’re looking at a $5,000 deductible for wind and hail, which is what we get in Montana,” Locatelli said.

It’s important for homeowners to know their deductible—if repairs cost less than the deductible, insurance won’t pay anything.

Filing small claims can also impact your rates; Locatelli said, “Because if you have a $3,000 patch job claim and you have a $5,000 deductible, you really don’t want to file that because you’re not going to get anything in. That claim is going to follow your insurance record for five years.”

Age of property factors in as well. If you have an older roof, insurance may not fully cover its replacement.

“You’ve now lived half the roof life. Well, insurance is about indemnity and putting you back in the same condition you were in before the loss. You can’t put a 16-year-old roof on a home, so at 16 years, they’ll now pay 50% of that roof instead of 100% because it’s already lived half of its life. And then it drops each year as it goes by,” Locatelli added.

The bottom line: Keep your property maintained, review your insurance policy, and think carefully before filing a claim—especially as Montana faces more intense weather.

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Montana

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

Published

18 hours ago

March 11, 2026

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Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

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Montana

Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

HELENA — On Monday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the City of Helena claiming the municipality is not in compliance with the state’s law banning “sanctuary cities.” The letter comes just under a month after the State of Montana launched an investigation into a city resolution on Helena Police policy and Helena’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement.

In the letter, Knudsen laid out the ways he believes the city’s resolution violated state law. The attorney general gave Helena 15 days to respond or reverse the policy. If the city does not comply, his office will pursue legal action.

“Helena’s resolution appears to contain blatant violations of this law,” wrote Knudsen.

MTN News

On January 26, 2026, the City of Helena adopted a resolution clarifying when and how the Helena Police Department will cooperate with federal immigration officials. The vote was 4 to 1. The Helena commission seats and the mayor are elected in non-partisan races.

In the letter, Knudsen alleges the resolution established “a broad sanctuary city policy” that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant, regardless of whether the individual had committed a serious crime or not. The state further claims the resolution gives illegal immigrants “special privileges” in plea deals and establishes a “free-for-all policy” where a police officer can request the unmasking of Department of Homeland Security and ICE officers.

Knudsen has requested that the City of Helena, in their response, specifically describe in detail how the resolution complies with Montana law, provide emails and correspondence from city staff and the commission regarding the resolution.

Helena City manager Alana Lake told MTN in a statement: “The City of Helena is aware of the issues being raised by the Attorney General’s Office and is reviewing the matter. While we cannot discuss the details of a potential legal issue, the City is committed to transparency and compliance with the law. The City takes these matters seriously and will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities while remaining focused on serving our community.”

Passed in 2021, Montana House Bill 200 prohibits a state agency or local government from implementing any policy that prevents employees or departments from communicating with federal agencies regarding immigration or citizenship status for lawful purposes. It also states governments must comply with immigration detainer requests if they are lawfully made.

HB 200 was backed by Republicans and passed with only Republican votes. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation into law on March 31, 2021.

Passage of the resolution by the Helena City Commission has drawn ire from conservative voices in Montana politics and on the national level.

The resolution said the commission supported the Helena Police Department avoiding “committing its resources to federal action for which it has no authority,” such as entering into an agreement with the federal government to directly enforce immigration laws. Under federal law, immigration enforcement is conducted by federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. However, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, state and local governments can voluntarily enter into 287 (g) agreements with the federal government that allow them to enforce immigration laws.

The commission further supported HPD’s policy not to stop, detain, or arrest a person solely on suspected violations of immigration law, including assisting other agencies in an arrest based solely on immigration law.

DEEPER LOOK: Helena has seen a growing debate over ICE and local police involvement

In the resolution, the commission also supported an HPD officer, using their own discretion, requesting the identification and unmasking of a Department of Homeland Security Officer if the HPD officer “feels it will not be interfering with the actions of federal officers exercising their jurisdiction.”

“This adversarial relationship by local law enforcement toward federal officers itself undermines public safety and forces immigration officers to fear for their safety when they are simply carrying out their lawful duties,” wrote Knudsen.

The resolution further supports the City of Helena’s policy not to consider immigration consequences in a plea agreement with a defendant.

The commission also supports the City of Helena not disclosing any sensitive information about any person – including immigration status, sexual orientation, or social security number – except as required by law.

“This is a restriction that directly conflicts with Montana’s prohibition on sanctuary jurisdictions, specifically ‘sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose,’” the attorney general wrote.

If a government is found to be violating Montana’s law banning “sanctuary cities”, the state could fine them $10,000 every five days, prevent them from receiving new grants from the state, and have their projects with the state re-prioritized. A government in violation can avoid penalties by becoming compliant with the law within 14 days of being notified of the violation.

Read the full letter from the Montana Attorney General to the City of Helena:

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