Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 80 M O N TA N A i n 3 yea rs RIVERS IN GENERAL, HOW WILL THE RIVERS IN MONTANA VARY FROM THEIR PRESENT USES IN 2048? Montanans and visitors alike will continue to flock to our rivers to recreate, so much so that new permit systems will need to be in- stituted to limit crowding on some of our most popular waterways. e South Fork Flathead, one of our wildest floatable rivers, likely will go to a Smith River type lottery system within a decade as a result of skyrocketing use by packrafters in search of solitude. I can see new use limits also being implemented on the Big Hole, Bit- terroot, and Madison rivers during peak times to reduce congestion from float fishing. Montana's stream-access law, one of the nation's most favorable in terms of allowing public use of our waterways, will withstand numerous legal and legislative challenges funded by wealthy out-of-state landowners who seek to privatize our rivers. A couple of high-profile state elected officials and judges will be driven from office when it is discovered that they illegally accepted campaign contributions from out-of-state billionaires who wanted the stream-access law overturned. DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANY KIND OF RETURN TO "WILD AND FREE-FLOW- ING" RIVERS OVER THE NEXT 30 YEARS? Given that climate change and population growth will only amp up the pressure to build more water storage in the West, I don't see a lot of large dams being removed in Montana over the next few decades. ere will be some exceptions, possibly including Ennis Lake Dam on the Madison River, whose federal license expires in 2040 and whose years are numbered as its overheated reservoir rapidly is filling with silt. But that doesn't mean we can't "re-wild" rivers in other ways. For example, there will be a tremendous need to keep more water higher in our major river systems longer into the summer to meet our future water supply needs. One way to do that is by reintroducing beaver to headwaters areas where they can build small dams that act as storage reservoirs. Another way to do that is to de-channelize sections of highly altered rivers like the Yellowstone by punching holes in their levees and riprap at strategic locations to give them access to their historic floodplains. By restoring the ability of rivers to "breathe" within their floodplains, we can buffer the impacts of droughts and floods, avoid building expensive and environmentally destructive dams, and restore critical wildlife habitats such as side- channels, wetlands, and riparian cottonwood forests. WHAT CHANGES MIGHT WE EXPECT IN MONTANA RIVER MANAGEMENT IN THE COMING YEARS? I think we'll see three major changes. First, we'll almost certainly have more permit systems in place to address overcrowding from anglers and floaters. We're already seeing that happen on the Big Hole and the West Fork of the Bitterroot. Second, all river users, not just anglers and hunters, will have to purchase recreational li- censes to generate funds to maintain public access sites and combat the spread of invasive species such as quagga mussels, saltcedar, and Russian olive. ird, we'll see more pressure from motorized recreation on our rivers, especially on big rivers like the Flathead,

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