Montana’s Ailing Rivers Need More Water, Not Words and Endless Studies

Big Hole River at Nez Perce camp, Big Hole National Battlefield. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

Forty-one years ago Gov. Ted Schwinden appointed me as chairman of his newly-formed Governor’s Drought Task Force. Montana’s legendary rivers were running dry, fish were dying, and the governor was whining, “I can’t make it rain.”  So he appointed a task force.

The truth is, he didn’t understand much about coldwater fisheries or that aquatic ecosystems are vibrant webs of life that rely on sufficient water to function and remain healthy.