Low flows in the Blackfoot River have activated a program in which irrigators will voluntarily cut back on the amount of water they pull out of the popular fishing and floating stream that flows past Lincoln and Ovando.

Throughout the year, the Blackfoot Drought and Water Conservation Committee carefully tracks drought conditions in the Blackfoot watershed. When flows in the river fall to 700 cubic feet per second — as they did on Monday — the irrigators reduce water use.

"We have consistently had over 60 irrigators who participate through their individual drought management plans," said Brian McDonald with the Blackfoot Challenge, which is a group of landowners and public agencies formed to help protect the Blackfoot River watershed. "I think the number of irrigators, and the consistency shows that we have something that people like."

For many water users in the Blackfoot, the Emergency Drought Response is an alternative to shutting down operations completely. That's because in the past, those with senior water rights could put a "call" out and junior water right holders would have to stop irrigating completely.

Under the drought plan, if everyone cuts back a little, they all can continue to use a little.

"I don't know the economics of this plan, but it has helped them out by giving them an opportunity to operate instead of not having any water at all," McDonald said. "We see it as a shared sacrifice that everybody makes for the river."

One of the main reasons for not pulling water from the Blackfoot is that at lower levels, the water temperature heats up and stresses the fish. That can make the fish more susceptible to ailments like whirling disease, McDonald said.

As of Friday morning, the Blackfoot was running at 640 cfs. If flows drop to 600 cfs, outfitters and anglers will be asked to limit their fishing to the morning hours, quickly release fish, and avoid bull trout streams.

"We ask them to keep the fish in the water, use barbless hooks n anything to create less stress for the fish," McDonald said.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks can close the river to fishing if even lower water levels occur.

Blackfoot Challenge committee chairman Harry Poett said that without the voluntary restrictions, the detrimental impacts from drought would have been much more significant.

"The committee firmly believes that without an equitable plan and meaningful participation by water users, the impacts of a six-year drought would be much more severe," Poett said. "It is important for people to know that while we can't control drought, we can be proactive about minimizing the impacts."

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at eve.byron@helenair.com.