The Solid 1st and 2nd

SAY WHATEVER

Keep Thine Arms

read between the lines

DOUBLE SPEAK

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.. We're watching closely as a nominee for Secretary of Interior talks out of both sides of his mouth.

Keep this in mind:

.. Amendment I of the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the press, and speech. It grants the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition for redress of grievances. Nice work founders!
.. Amendment II of the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. There has been some confusion about punctuation between ratified versions but recent Supreme Court decisions have cleared that up.
.. People across the nation and in the blog-sphere unfamiliar with the record of Ryan Zinke have been swayed by his campaign rhetoric and his well rehearsed testimony before congress.
.. He's well within his rights to say whatever he likes. This is his Constitutional entitlement. There is however a real question about the difference between his speech behavior and other behaviors - like voting records.
.. We don't much like his record for voting to kill fish on the North Fork of the Flathead River, [LINK-1.]
.. We don't much savor his supporting role for the "anti-parks caucus" in congress either [LINK-1.]
.. We're confused, as are his Republican colleagues, about other things as well. We've seen him on both sides of the fence when it comes to discussions about our right to bear arms [LINK-2.]
.. We note he is headed to Utah to review some recent actions regarding public lands. We also note that Utah is the stronghold of the ideology that wants to restrict fishing access and also is a bastion for the privatization of federal lands.
.. The website Verbatim has been watching this cute little song and dance for some time now [LINK-3.] Slippery is as slippery does.
.. We are going to wait and see just which Zinke emerges in his office as Secretary Of Interior - if confirmed. We caution our readers to watch closely. This tap dance could be entertaining and potentially destructive.
.. Most of our neighbors have seen his bewildering attitude here at home. It's a shame that the folks who get their politics from the T.V. don't dig a little deeper.
.. Of course Montana Democrats, and even our local fishers and sportsmen are making hay from his double speak. It's the 'words vs. deeds' stage play that is a conundrum for the uninformed [LINK-4.]
.. The Montana Wilderness Association has provided us with a complete precis of verbiage vs. voting behavior [LINK-5.]

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.. Well as the mid winter melt continues to erode our snow pack we shall go to the fishin' hole and enjoy the mixed blessing of good catching and diminishing spring runoff.

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WALLPAPER: MID WINTER MELT

Just Like Falling Dominoes

IT'S A SIMPLE EXAMPLE

With A Complex Result

see the ecological transformation of

flathead lake

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.. By now, it would seem, that interested and informed fly fishers are aware of the Lake Trout situation in Yellowstone Lake. They are probably aware of the rapidly vanishing native species in Yellowstone National Park, as well.
.. Sadly many of our neighbors, (guides and feather merchants as well,) have poo-pooed the need to do anything about the conservation of native species. They say, sadly: "A trout is a trout, is a trout. I just want to catch them."

Opossum Shrimp

.. Many of our influential neighbors and famous fishers have remained silent on the matter; avoiding the scoping meetings and public comment forums that the NPS has held on the current EA for the Native Fish Conservation Plan, (LINK #1, LINK #2.)
.. We read with great interest the recent article in NEW WEST. The story is about the complex interaction of species in Flathead Lake.
.. A recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details how the introduction of a small non-native crustacean, (the Opossum Shrimp - Mysis diluviana,) has totally altered the ecology of a large lake.
.. It has changed algae production, nearly eliminated Kokanee Salmon, enabled Lake Trout population explosion, and endangered the native Bull Trout.
.. The paper details a classic example of a trophic cascade that has been well documented since it's inception in 1968.

LAKE TROUT

.. The excellent summary in New West informs us that the introduction of the shrimp to were to provide food for Kokanee Salmon which were planted in the 20's. As it turns out the shrimp devoured the Kokanee's food and proliferated.
.. Their population explosion provided an abundant food source for the introduced Lake Trout and allowed the Lake Trout population to grow to the point where the Kokanee Salmon and the Bull Trout are now being eaten at a rapid clip by the Lakers.
.. Another by product of the trophic cascade is the increased growth of algae.

MONEY QUOTE:

"After the mysis explosion kokanee disappeared, bull trout declined, and lake trout came to be the dominant top predator, according to the study. This led to an increase in algal production because the shrimp ate up larger zooplankton, decreasing their levels and allowing smaller types of zooplankton to proliferate, Stanford explains. He says this changed the way the zooplankton “mow the lawn,” or consume algae: smaller zooplankton are less efficient consumers and allow algae room to grow."

.. We note that "simple" is seldom a concept that can be applied to ecological change. Both Yellowstone National Park and Flathead Lake, (as well as many other areas around the country and the world,) have suffered the consequences of actions in the past.
.. "While the future might hold unexpected outcomes, for now fisheries managers have their hands full dealing with the legacy of shrimp and a misinformed decision from the past."

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LINK

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If It's Not One Thing, It's . . .

GRAB YOUR 9 WEIGHT

Pike Roaming The Jeff

use trout imitations for flies

.. A heads up from the TROUT UNDERGROUND pointed us at a Billings Gazette note about the proliferation of pike in the Jefferson River.
.. The official confirmation has been slow in coming despite angler reports for the past couple of years. [ The current flurry of concern has prompted news sources to quickly jump on the information: KPAX.com, KXnet.com, HELENAir.com. By the time you read this Google news will probably have a 1/2 dozen more.]
.. The Flathead River also has a large population of pike that are threatening the native Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout populations; read about it HERE.
.. The Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks is watching the situation closely in an effort to fully understand the situation. Stay tuned. In the meantime downsize some marlin flies - change the colors a bit, and head for the JEFF!