Watershed group asks users to begin conserving river water

WISDOM — The Big Hole Watershed Committee is asking water users to conserve after the river near Wisdom dropped dramatically this past week.

The river is managed under a voluntary drought management plan, which establishes a flow of 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Wisdom as a threshold for supporting the fishery and aquatic system. The river dropped to those critical levels on Thursday.

The Wisdom area is the stronghold for the river's population of fluvial Arctic grayling, which is the last native population in the lower 48 states.

Committee members and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials have contacted water users throughout the upper basin to inform them of the flow levels and request conservation measures be taken immediately.

Jennifer Dwyer, committee's director, said the rapid drop is unexpected since the Big Hole had a better snowpack this year.

‘‘Less than one week ago we had a flow over 100 cfs at Wisdom, and forecasts predicted low flows later in July. Our current situation demands quick action,'' Dwyer said.

Irrigators said they will turn water back to the river immediately and over the next few days. Traditionally, haying operations in the upper Big Hole begin around July 4. Haying season means the end of flood irrigation.

Randy Smith, the Big Hole Watershed Committee chairman and a Glen rancher, said it will take time to make up for four years of drought. Smith said the committee is investigating other long-term solutions including off-stream storage facilities that will assist conservation efforts and provide flows for the fluvial Arctic grayling population.

Jim Magee, the state's chief grayling biologist, said FWP is monitoring the situation closely and will make a decision on a fishing closure on Monday.

‘‘We have a good relationship with irrigators in the upper basin and we are anticipating increasing flows in the next 24 to 48 hours,'' Magee said.

If the flows drop below 20 cfs over the holiday weekend, a fishing closure will be implemented for the upper 19 miles of the Big Hole from Rock Creek Road to the mouth of the North Fork as directed by the management plan, he said.

Conservation efforts can make a difference at this time. If all users reduce slightly, it could mean the difference of low flows and critical flows for aquatic life, according to the committee.