news
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is seeking public comment on
draft recreational-use plans for the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers.
"These plans aim to resolve some complex social issues and represent a
tremendous amount of time and energy on the part of the citizen advisory
committees who created them," said FWP Commission Chairman Stan Meyer. "We want
to ensure that the public has ample opportunity to review them and comment
before the Commission takes final action in December."
Public comment will be accepted until Nov. 13 and public meetings are scheduled in Butte on Oct. 16 and Dillon on Oct. 17.
Increased recreational use, crowding, and conflicts among users on the two
rivers spurred the 1999 Montana Legislature to grant the FWP Commission
authority to address these social issues.
The Commission established a recreation-management planning process and formed
citizen advisory committees for both the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers. The
committees, charged with developing strategies to manage recreational use, met
for nearly a year to negotiate the agreements and draft the recommendations
presented in detail during the Oct. 5 FWP Commission meeting.
"As use increases, so does crowding during peak periods, competition between
boats and bank anglers, conflicts among the different types of use, trespass on
private property, littering, the spread of weeds and riparian erosion," Meyer
said. "The draft recreational-use plans offer specific strategies to manage
these issues and others."
The strategies include better distributing the current use on the river, limits
on outfitters^ use, improved facilities, improved enforcement and educating the
public.
On both rivers, the angling pressure has doubled in the last decade and the
number of nonresident anglers has dramatically increased. Outfitters^ use of
the Beaverhead jumped from 1,000 client days in 1990 to nearly 5,000 client
days in 1999. On the Big Hole, outfitters^ use jumped from 1,876 client days in
1990 to 4,749 client days in 1999.
"Anyone who recreates on these two rivers, or with an interest in these
important Montana fisheries, will want to learn more about the draft
recreation-management plans," Meyer said. Public meetings will be held in the
following locations to present the plan and take public comment:
City Location Date Time
Butte War Bonnet Inn Oct. 16 6-9 p.m.
Dillon Western Mt. Univ., Oct. 17 6-9 p.m.
Lewis and Clark
Room,
Executive summaries of the recreation plans or copies of the full document are
available by calling the FWP Fisheries Division, Dorothy Lindsay at
406-444-2449, or by email: dlindsay@state.mt.us
The executive summaries are also on the FWP web site at fwp.state.mt.us under
"What^s New." and "Notices"
Uploaded: 10/15/2000
Uploaded: 10/15/2000