Montana News Roundup: Help Needed as Blackfoot Runs Dry

Managers are asking water users in the Blackfoot Basin to begin voluntary water conservation measures, as the river goes into another summer of extreme drought.

      💧The Blackfoot has had several dry years in a row.

And while a more normal winter snowpack helped some from last summer's drought, leaders of the Blackfoot Challenge, Montana FWP, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes say streams are already running lower than most remember, stock water sources and domestic wells are drying up, and water temperatures are climbing.

Irrigators are being encouraged to take conservation measures, anglers are encouraged to use caution with "catch and release" fishing, and other outdoor users to conserve water.

READ MORE: Montana's Water Forecast Turns Critical

Heat brings more Montana fishing restrictions

Warmer-than-usual water is bringing more fishing restrictions to one of Montana's premier locations.

Montana FWP says hoot-owl restrictions are taking effect today on the Lower Madison River from the Warm Springs BLM day-use area downstream to the Jefferson River. The Upper Madison was already restricted above Hebgen Lake, closing fishing from 2 pm until midnight each day to allow fish to remain in cooler water.

     -Restrictions are also being placed on the Sun River, from Muddy Creek downstream to the Highway 287 bridge.

New cooperation between Montana and Feds for forest management

Relations between the State of Montana and the U.S. Forest Service are entering a new phase of collaboration this week, following a few years where the two land managers didn't see things the same way.

Governor Greg Gianforte and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz have inked a 20-year "Shared Stewardship Agreement".

The pact will start with a joint management approach of more than 200,000 acres in Northwest Montana.

"This agreement will empower our state to take the lead in active forest management, reduce wildfire risk, support local jobs, and ensure our forests remain healthy for generations to come." - Governor Gianforte

Schultz called the agreement "a model for collaborative, landscape-scale forest management."

     -Expect to see more "cross-boundary" timber sales and other projects under the agreement.

Fire danger climbs before the 4th

Fire risk is on everyone's mind as temperatures soar this week. The Bitterroot National Forest was among those raising the fire danger back to "high" again this week, because of the hot weather and the risk of fireworks, which are illegal on Forest Service lands.

Different Montana views on "Big, Beautiful Budget" bill

Senator Steve Daines is saying passage of the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" will "strengthen national security," and  "unleash American energy". He's also saying the budget, will cut "wasteful spending" and "taxes for working families."

Senator Tim Sheehy believes the massive budget bill approved by the Senate yesterday is the best way to trim federal spending, and control "social entitlement programs", which he says have ballooned since the pandemic.

The junior senator says there's been an "explosion in federal spending that's put us on an unsustainable path" and maintains it will start bringing the federal deficit under control.

-Montana Democrats countered, saying the bill will "strip away" healthcare and food assistance, kill "good paying jobs and explode the national deficit."

Buses back to the riverbank

The University of Montana says Missoula's Mountain Line transit service is stepping forward again this year to provide a river shuttle for the thousands of people floating the Clark Fork River this year. The shuttle, which has run the past few years as the UDASH River Shuttle, will run Thursdays through the weekend, starting July 10th.