D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 1 9
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Double Tree Hotel pool
M
ANY OF US HAVE PASTS THAT WE WANT TO SOME
EXTENT LEAVE BEHIND. I le the pedestrian-flooded
sidewalks and the sun-blocking skyscrapers of New York
City for the famous trout streams of Missoula, Montana. I hoped that
my future would eclipse the past. It's not just people who need a new
beginning; sometimes it's rivers, like Montana's Clark Fork.
Many will argue that, with an adult, wild trout population of 300 to
500 per river mile—about one quarter the population of the Madison
River—the Clark Fork is not a blue-ribbon trout stream. They say it is
scarred by its past. But when I stare into the river's glass-clear water,
although I know its history of pollution and fish kills, I also hear the
river's soothing voice telling about a journey of hope and renewal.
article & photos by RANDY KADISH
An Urban River's Journey
Mioula's
Clark Fork
