Montana
New data raises more questions about health of Clark Fork fishery • Daily Montanan
![New data raises more questions about health of Clark Fork fishery • Daily Montanan](https://dailymontanan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG-3398-scaled-e1690394972900.jpg)
While anglers flock to streams across the Clark Fork Basin for another fishing season, hardworking staff at Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks have been grappling with a sobering question: Is it safe to eat fish anywhere in the Clark Fork River?
Problems with fish in the Clark Fork aren’t necessarily breaking news. Previous testing by FWP found high levels of three types of dangerous contaminants: dioxins, furans, and PCBs in rainbow trout and northern pike in some stretches of the river. This discovery led to a formal advisory that the public avoid eating fish in certain river sections – from the Bitterroot confluence to where it joins the Flathead – due to human health concerns.
But the Clark Fork is a big watershed, and questions remained about whether fish in the headwaters or downstream should also be off-limits. These unknowns prompted Montana Trout Unlimited to partner with FWP and other stakeholders, the Clark Fork Coalition, the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, the Missoula County Health Department and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes to pool resources to investigate the scope and potential sources of pollution.
In 2022, MTU secured a federal EPA grant to fund water quality and fish-tissue sampling at dozens of locations, from the Clark Fork headwaters to the Idaho border. FWP staff spent the 2023 season deploying samplers in the river and harvesting fish to test for the presence of dioxins, furans and PCBs. Now the initial results are in, and the picture may be bleaker than before.
The devices deployed last year identified elevated levels of PCBs, dioxins, and furans at the headwaters, again near Bearmouth, and downstream of Missoula. Although we await a definitive analysis, initial results suggest that levels may approach or exceed safe limits for human consumption. It is now clear that this contamination is widespread, but more work is needed to pinpoint its specific sources, and to develop effective remediation strategies to protect human and ecological health.
So what does this new data mean? We don’t have the complete answer yet.
Experts with FWP and Montana DEQ need to complete their quality-control analysis before making decisions about whether an expanded advisory is warranted. However, two things are for certain:
First, Clark Fork anglers should proceed with caution. Even in very small amounts, these highly toxic contaminants are known to cause cancer, damage the immune system, and cause developmental and reproductive problems. While more needs to be done to fully understand the 2023 data, an abundance of caution would dictate avoiding fish consumption throughout the river.
Second, the public needs more information. These contaminants are highly toxic and extremely difficult to detect. Testing is expensive, time consuming, and often leads to questions that warrant further investigation. In some areas, we currently have the resources to dig into the problem. At Smurfit-Stone – a known source of all three types of contaminants – the EPA is investigating the site and must do everything possible to quantify and mitigate Smurfit’s contribution to the problem. In other areas, we may need to collect more data to identify and remove new sources of contamination.
We’ve come too far to accept a perpetually contaminated Clark Fork fishery, and FWP’s discoveries demand a strong response. This is true not just at Smurfit but in the upper river, where hundreds of millions have already been invested in restoring a heavily damaged waterway. Through the ongoing and collective efforts of FWP, DEQ, and a broad set of community stakeholders, we are well positioned to identify and address threats to human and ecological health and work towards a cleaner and healthier Clark Fork.
David Brooks is the Executive Director, Montana Trout Unlimited and Andrew Gorder is the legal and policy director for the Clark Fork Coalition.
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Montana
NWS: “Moderate” Risk of Hail Today Across NC Montana
![NWS: “Moderate” Risk of Hail Today Across NC Montana](https://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2024/06/attachment-6-24-Hail-Risk.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural)
A mammatus cloud passed over the KSEN/K96 studios in Shelby about an hour ago. That’s a cloud with what I would describe as a “bubbly texture” on the bottom. (I’m told whoever came up with the name “mammatus” thought the bumps looked like cows’ utters.) Mammatus clouds are often seen with thunderstorms, and indeed, our forecast for North Central Montana today does include the possibility of thunderstorms, and possibly even some hail.
The following information – and the hail-threat graphic above – are from the National Weather Service forecasters in Great Falls:
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected across most of North-central and Central Montana. Temperatures across North-central, Central, and Southwestern Montana will warm up to above average on Sunday.
Montana
Montana Fouts, Haylie McCleney Reunited on Professional Team: Roll Call, June 21, 2024
![Montana Fouts, Haylie McCleney Reunited on Professional Team: Roll Call, June 21, 2024](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4080,h_2295,x_0,y_118/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/bama_central/01j0wq1twx9agkedndtb.jpg)
Montana Fouts and Haylie McCleney are two of the most legendary players in Alabama softball program history. While the two’s careers never overlapped in Tuscaloosa (Fouts played from 2019-2023 and McCleney from 2013-2016), they have had the opportunity to play together in the professional ranks.
Both Fouts and McCleney were on Team USA in 2022 for the World Games, when the team won the gold medal over Japan. And now, they will get to play together again on Team Alo as part of the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball competition AUX.
Team Alo with Montana and Haylie together?!🐐🐐@MontanaFouts x @hayliemac8 #RollTide https://t.co/dAfDWCbDlD pic.twitter.com/BTloQYMLXb
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) June 20, 2024
The teams rotate and change based on a draft each series during the competition in Wichita, Kansas, and this weekend, Fouts and McCleney will be on the same team with captain Jocelyn Alo. Team Alo plays Team Mazon on Saturday, June 22 at noon on ESPN2.
No games scheduled.
No results
We are so excited to have Kennedy join our program!🐘 — Alabama Women’s Basketball (@AlabamaWBB) June 20, 2024 It’s official.
Hilda Olemomoi is a Gator 🐊 👀.
The now-former Alabama star will reunite with Coach Will Palmer after signing with Florida (@GatorsTF) out of the transfer portal! Read up on what this means for the women of Gainesville below 👇https://t.co/g9MaT98gcS — The Stride Report (@TheStrideReport) June 20, 2024
🔗https://t.co/B1uljlG9cA⁰#RollTide #GLG | @ken_leonard_14 pic.twitter.com/qmPew9TlAl
71 days
June 21, 1927: Former Alabama player Tommy Sewell, who had a famous brother named Joe, made his only Major League appearance when he pinch-hit for the Cubs against the Cardinals. He didn’t reach base.
June 21, 1955: Football quarterback Albert Elmore, Jr., from Troy, was named as the new A-Club President for 1955-56. Elmore was the son of Albert Elmore, an end on the ’31 Rose Bowl team.
June 21, 1990: JaMychal Green was born in Montgomery.
June 21, 2013: Alabama superfan Dick Coffee died at the age of 91. Beginning with the season opener in 1946, he attended 781 consecutive games and 51 consecutive bowl games. The last time he saw the Crimson Tide play was the 42-14 victory over Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7, 2013 in Miami Gardens, Fla. In 2010, .
“When you make a mistake, admit it; learn from it and don’t repeat it.”— Paul W. “Bear” Bryant
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Montana
New dinosaur species found in Montana
![New dinosaur species found in Montana](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a28f986/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1008+0+36/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fewscripps.brightspotcdn.com%2F2c%2F40%2F0b9bcd4e42259536ace7c6a51d74%2Fsequence-03-00-00-54-04-still003.png)
The Natural History Museum of Utah has announced the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, which was discovered right here in the Treasure State.
It’s called Lokiceratops Rangiformis. The name means “Loki’s horned face that looks like a caribou.” It is inspired by the distinctive horn pattern similar to the Norse god Loki as portrayed in comic books.
The fossil remains were found in northern Montana’s famous Badlands near the Canadian border in 2019. Details about the Lokiceratops discovery have been published in the scientific journal PeerJ.
Natural History Museum of Utah/Artwork by Fabrizio Lavezzi © Evolutionsmuseet, Knuthenborg
The fossil is on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah.
Paleontologists studying Lokiceratops say the species inhabited swamps and floodplains in Laramidia more than 78 million years ago.
“This new dinosaur pushes the envelope on bizarre ceratopsian headgear, sporting the largest frill horns ever seen in a ceratopsian,” said Joseph Sertich, a paleontologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Colorado State University, and co-leader of the study. “These skull ornaments are one of the keys to unlocking horned dinosaur diversity and demonstrate that evolutionary selection for showy displays contributed to the dizzying richness of Cretaceous ecosystems.”
Learn more about Lokiceratops at the Natural History Museum of Utah,
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