Montana FWP is asking for a modest increase in hunting and fishing license fees in the 2015 legislature. It’s been about a dozen years since the last fee increase and license fees provide about 70% of money for fish and wildlife management. If this needed money is not forthcoming,...

We don’t yet know the full extent of the latest pipeline breach that spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. The Bridger Pipeline Company is reporting that up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled into the river. That sounds vaguely like the initial reports of...

For more than three decades, the State of Montana and the Federal Government have worked hard and long to negotiate fair and impartial water rights agreements on Native American reservations across the state. Six of seven tribal water compact agreements have been successfully negotiated and passed the Montana Legislature....

Each year, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, along with several partner agencies, release the results of threatened bull trout spawning bed (redd) counts for index streams in much of  Northwest Montana. This count involves a lot of time and manual effort for everyone involved and they are to be...

From the Missoulian, Dec.12, 2014 I see by his latest rambling diatribe that Verdell Jackson (guest column, Dec. 10) and his small cadre of xenophobic luddites persist in the belief that water is not a fluid. It seems they would have us believe that there is a fundamental change...

If you are looking for breathtaking scenery, relatively low angling pressure and great fishing, consider grabbing your passport and heading north to British Columbia. Learn about fishing the fabled Elk River near Fernie B.C. at the next Flathead TU chapter meeting on Nov. 18 at 7pm. Meetings are held...

In 1985, the Montana Legislature passed our stream access law (MCA-23-2-302) stating in part that “all surface waters that are capable of recreational use may be so used by the public without regard to the ownership of the land underlying the waters.” Over the intervening 29 years there have...

In August, the latest cleanup effort on the Mike Horse Mine in the headwaters of the Blackfoot River began at a contract cost of $7.2 million dollars. That cost comes on top of the more than $40 million spent to clean up the effects of the disastrous 1975 spill...

Once again, the wonderful fall season has descended on the fabulous Flathead Valley. That means it’s time once again to enjoy some of the finest fishing of the year. And, fall also means the release of the latest issue of the informative and exciting Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited Fall...

The Swan Valley has historically been home to a stable bull trout population. However, in 1998 anglers began to occasionally catch adult sized lake trout from Swan Lake and the Swan River. This caused alarm because lake trout are not native and are notorious for rapidly expanding and dominating...