Initiative 191 would designate 110 miles of the Gallatin and Madison Rivers as Outstanding Resource Waters. Chuck Denowh Policy Director for the United Property Owners of Montana on Voices of Montana Tuesday said if passed it would have dire consequences.
Bipartisan Committee Warns Voters Against Supporting Ballot Initiative 191
Montana’s Water Policy Interim Committee held a special meeting Tuesday to review I-191 a ballot initiative to restrict agricultural recreational and developmental activities on parts of the Gallatin and Madison Rivers. The proposal was met with opposition from a wide range of state groups including Montana Trout Unlimited whose Conservation a...
Northwestern Energy Reducing Hebgen Reservoir Water Release Due To Drought
The Madison River Basin is experiencing Severe and Extreme Drought conditions and low soil moisture along with low snowpack are contributing to a forecast of continued low water levels at Hebgen Reservoir. NorthWestern Energy is reducing Hebgen Dam water releases through April 24th to capture more water in Hebgen Reservoir. River recreationist...
Supreme Court Rules Against Attorney General’s Halting Of Signature-Gathering
In an order issued Wednesday the state Supreme Court said Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen made a mistake in halting a proposed ballot initiative that aims to add new environmental protections to stretches of the Gallatin and Madison rivers from going out for signature-gathering. Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote the authority to determi...
Ballot Initiative To Protect Rivers Reaches Supreme Court
Backers of proposed Citizen Initiative 24 which would prohibit new permits for discharging pollution into portions of the Gallatin and Madison rivers are asking the Montana Supreme Court to reverse a state Attorney General office finding that it amounts to an unconstitutional encroachment on private property. They argue it overstepped in its d...
Renovation Plans In The Works For Missouri Headwaters State Park
Montana State Parks is developing the first of its kind master plan for Missouri Headwaters State Park a 536-acre park at the confluence of the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison rivers near Three Forks. Initial reports show visitation increased about 46% between 2019 and 2021. To help guide future development the draft plan ranks the park’s need...
Alarm System Being Considered For Hebgen Dam
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recommends that NorthWestern Energy should have alarms installed to alert the company when flows downstream of Hebgen Dam drop dangerously low and ought to consider installing a camera at the dam toe “for remote verification of any flow deviation.” That and other recommendations were sent in a letter as...
Madison River To Keep Walking Sections, Lose Rest/Rotation Rule
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved two rule changes concerning recreational and commercial use on the Madison River. They’ll keep the walking sections from Quake Lake to Lyons Bridge and Ennis Bridge to Ennis Lake in place but repealed a rule establishing a rest/rotation system for commercial use on the river. Before voting ...
NorthWestern Energy Reportedly Violated Requirements At Hebgen Dam
According to a report filed with the Federal Energy Regulation Commission by NorthWestern Energy, the utility company is in violation of a pair of federal requirements under its dam operating license after a plunge in flows from Hebgen Dam downstream on the Madison River. A broken coupler attached to a gate stem at the dam gate dropped Novembe...
Hebgen Dam Malfunction To Be Investigated
The flow of water released from Hebgen Lake into the upper Madison River was returning to normal Thursday after NorthWestern Energy crews attached a new component to a malfunctioning gate on Hebgen Dam. The fishing restriction placed on the upper Madison River by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks ends today. Governor Greg Gianforte wrote on Twit...