Member News
MRF Hosts 2nd Annual Madison River Guides & Outfitters BBQ
The Foundation along with co-sponsors Sun Ranch Institute and Madison-Gallatin Trout Unlimited hosted the annual BBQ for river guides and outfitters. The event was held May 15th on the banks of the Madison on Sun Ranch. Two dozen guides and outfitters attended along with representatives from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, PPL-Montana, the Bureau of Land Management, and Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM). The program included updates on Madison River management issues, fish population studies, plans for fishing access site improvements, river flows and Hebgen Dam management. The event included a bratwurst cookout with Dancing Trout beer provided compliments of Bayern Brewing of Missoula.
Bamboo Bodkins! Blue Ribbon Flies Supports MRF with a Unique Offer December 18 : Ennis -- Fly tiers might be interested in this unique offer from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. Blue Ribbon is offering handcrafted fly tying bodkins made out of bamboo from the famous "Boo Boys" of Sweetgrass Rods. And all the proceeds from sales of the bodkins go to support the Madison River Foundation.
Blue Ribbon has teamed up with Tim Bozorth of Dillon. Tim makes beautiful fly tying bodkins out of scrap bamboo pieces from the Sweetgrass Rod Company of Twin Bridges. The "Boo Boys" of Sweetgrass donate the bamboo, Tim designs and makes these unique bodkins, Blue Ribbon sell them out of its shop in West Yellowstone, and the entire purchase price is donated to the foundation. Each bodkin is one-of-a-kind and very beautiful and sells for only $6.99.
"Here's something you can purchase knowing every cent of your purchase goes to work on the Madison River, through the Madison River Foundation, for a river conservation project," said Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. Call Blue Ribbon at 406-646-7642 or visit www.blueribbonflies.com to place you order for one of these beautiful bamboo bodkins, and support the Madison Ribbon Foundation.
"Craig and Jackie Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone are lifetime members and loyal supporters of the Foundation," said executive director Richard Lessner. "In 2008 the couple received the Foundation's Friend of the Madison Award in recognition of their many years of conservation work on behalf of the river."
Patagonia Awards MRF Environmental Grant December 1 : Outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia has awarded a $4,000 grant to the Madison River Foundation. The grant, awarded by the Patagonia store in Dillon, Montana, will help fund a project to restore upstream fish passage on Lake Creek, a tributary of the Madison River below Wade Lake in the Gravelly Mountains.
“The foundation is very pleased that Patagonia has demonstrated its support for our mission in general and for the Lake Creek project in particular,” said executive director Richard Lessner. “Patagonia awards million of dollars in competitive environmental grants every year to organizations worldwide. We regard this grant as a significant endorsement of the foundation and its work to protect, preserve and enhance the Madison River and its related ecosystem.”
The Lake Creek work is a joint project and the foundation, PPL Montana and the U.S. Forest Service. The project, to be completed in the summer of 2009, will entail breaching of a small dam on Lake Creek to allow upstream fish passage to historic spawning grounds. This will require the drilling of a well and installation of pipeline to provide an alternate source of stock water on a nearby grazing allotment atop Wade Lake bench.
“This project is a great example of a cooperative partnership between a government agency, a rancher, a private sector utility, and a non-profit foundation,” Lessner said. “The work will directly benefit the Madison river by enhanced brown trout spawning as well as Lake Creek itself by restoring the stream to a more natural condition.”
Ennis Fly Fishing Festival a Huge Success September 2 : The Madison River Foundation’s sixth annual Ennis on the Madison Fly Fishing Festival was held over Labor Day weekend and by all accounts it was an enormous success. More than 300 area residents and visitors attended the Friday evening unveiling of the “Fish out of Water” sculptures sponsored by the Madison County Economic Development Commission. Attendees admired the beautifully painted trout and rocked to the music of the Flatland Mountain Band while munching Wooly Bugger sandwiches, a specialty of the festival.
The official festival painting by Ennis artist Bern Sundell was sold at auction Friday night to Kim and Jeff Montag of McAllister. The original painting appeared on the cover of the festival guide book, poster and T-shirt.
Jean Mueller of Cameron and Pasadena, California won the ClackaCraft drift boat in the drawing Saturday during the “Main Street BBQ.” Jean bought the winning ticket in July at the Hutchins Bridge (West Fork) birthday party. This was the fourth year in a row that ClackaCraft donated a boat and trailer to the Foundation for the raffle. When informed by telephone that her ticket had been drawn Jean said simply, “I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!” Jean and her son Kevin are avid fly fishers and intend to put their new boat to good use on the Madison.
More than 100 children attended the festival’s kids program Friday morning where they constructed fly fishing lanyards and took turns learning or practicing their fly casting. Ennis First Grader Austin Aufdenkamp won the drawing for a new fly rod and reel donated by the Madison River Fishing Company.
“The festival was bigger and better than ever,” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the Madison River Foundation. “I can’t thank enough all the volunteers who work long, long hours to make the event a success. We’re also grateful to ClackaCraft for their generosity, as well as to all the sponsors, guest speakers, tackle companies and representatives, and local businesses who donate their time and talents to help make the festival a wonderful event. We’ve already started planning for next year’s festival. We have some new and creative ideas to make the event even better.”
Delegation from Ireland to Attend Ennis Fly Fishing Festival August 14 : A delegation from the town of Ballina, Ireland will attend this year’s Ennis on the Madison Fly Fishing Festival August 29-31. The delegation of six persons represents the town of Ballina, the Ballina Chamber of Commerce, and the Irish Board of Fisheries, the equivalent of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
“Ballina on the River Moy in County Mayo is the official Atlantic salmon fishing capital of Ireland,” said Foundation executive director Richard Lessner. “Ballina has its own salmon fishing festival which is quite a bit larger than our Ennis on the Madison Fly Fishing Festival. But our Irish friends are intrigued by the significant conservation component we feature during the Ennis festival in addition to the major focus on angling. Our guests want to learn more about this aspect of the Ennis festival and how they might incorporate more conservation themes in their own event.”
The delegation from Ireland will consist of Vincent Roche, CEO of the Northwestern Regional Fisheries Board and Markus Muller also of the Fisheries Board; Ballina Town Council Senior Executive Officer Paul Benson and his wife Honor; Town Councillor Johnnie O’Malley; and Sandra Cribben of the Ballina Chamber of Commerce. Two of the delegation will do some fishing during a guided float trip on the Madison River with the Madison River Fishing Co. in Ennis.
“We’re delighted to be hosting this delegation from Ireland and thrilled that our festival here in Ennis is attracting this kind of interest, not only in our region and nationwide, but even across the Atlantic,” Lessner said.
Craig & Jackie Mathews Presented with 2008 Friend of the Madison Award June 30 : Craig and Jackie Mathews are the recipients of the Madison River Foundation’s 2008 Friend of the Madison award. The second annual award was presented to the Mathews at the foundation’s annual banquet June 27.
The award is given to recognize individuals, groups or organizations that have demonstrated a significant devotion to or support for conservation efforts on the Madison River and its watershed, or to the work of the Madison River Foundation. The first recipient of the award in 2007 was Bruce Belles, president of ClackaCraft Drift Boats.
The Mathews are well known and widely respected in fly fishing and conservation circles. Craig is the founder of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, MT and is widely known as the creator of innovative flies, an author, and advocate for protecting the Madison. With the late Gary LaFontaine he authored Fly Fishing the Madison. Along with Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, Craig co-founded One Percent for the Planet, a program that has enlisted more than 1,000 businesses to support local conservation organizations. In 2007 Craig and Jackie founded the Dick McGuire Memorial Fund administered by the Madison River Foundation for conservation projects on the Madison.
“Over the years the Mathews have been outstanding advocates for the Madison River and great supporters of the Madison River Foundation,” said executive director Richard Lessner. “The Mathews truly embody the intent of the Friend of the Madison award. All rivers need advocates and the Madison has had no better champions than Craig and Jackie Mathews.”
This statement was read into the record at the Madison River Foundation Annual Membership Meeting June 27 :
As the population of the Madison Valley increases and its citizenry becomes more diverse, is controversy and conflict inevitable?
By
MRF Secretary Dave Bricker
The Madison County Growth Policy, an update of the County Comprehensive Plan estimates that the residential population of the Valley will increase from 1927 to 2382 just in the five years between 2005 and 2010. This is a 37 percent increase in an otherwise rural population characterized by a high percentage of seasonal or recreational ownership.
In the entire decade of the 1990s, 338 lots, condo units and RV spaces were created in the County including seven by family transfer. In the first six years of this decade, 1,194 new lots, condo units and RV spaces have been created. This includes 90 created via family transfer.
During the spring and summer of 2006 a series of Community Conversations was held throughout Madison County. The county solicited public input on “growth and the County’s growth management efforts.” Quoting the Madison County Growth Policy: “Local citizens raised a number of issues common to the discussions that led up to the 1999 Comprehensive Plan Update. However, some new issues surfaced, and several ‘old’ issues were discussed with a greater sense of urgency. Among the concerns expressed during the recent community discussions were:
- Increased real estate values and limited housing supply have created a serious shortage of both rental and fee ownership housing units for low and moderate-income residents.
- Our population is growing older, with young adults leaving and school enrollments in decline.
- Efforts to upgrade municipal services such as sewer and water are critical to future growth that makes efficient use of limited resources and reduces reliance on individual wells and septic systems.
- New development should be clustered. Most of the new development should occur close to existing towns.
- Planning for future growth should be better coordinated between the towns and the county.
- We have a lot of guidelines for how new development should occur, but the guidelines have no ‘teeth’.
- Existing development regulations must be enforced, and the rules may need to be strengthened. Along with new rules should come incentives.
- We should expect new development to pay its own way.
- Efforts to help ranchers stay in business are important.
- We should continue our educational efforts aimed at helping citizens understand the impacts of development.
- Pros and cons of conservation easements.
- Pros and cons of zoning - in town, in other higher-density areas, and/or in rural areas.
- Respect for private property rights is important, but community rights must also be respected.
- We need to put greater emphasis on open space, river corridor, and wildlife habitat protection.”
A citizen-based process called Madison Growth Solutions (MGS) has been in place for the last three years to help facilitate the discussion of issues such as those quoted above. Through a series of (to date) seventeen public forums held since the early summer of 2005, MGS has tried to actively involve citizens in the discussion of many aspects of growth and its real and potential impacts on the Valley.
An article in the fall 2007 MRF newsletter discussed why participation in the Madison Growth Solutions process is important to the mission of the Foundation. This is one very direct way to have some broad-based citizen input into decisions that will impact the future of the valley, its open spaces, water quality, wildlife and wetland habitat, and the long-term economic well-being of valley residents.
That newsletter article further described how the Foundation became directly involved when it sponsored, along with the Madison County Planning Board, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and Madison Valley Ranchlands Group the “Madison Valley Water Summit - Connecting Water and Growth.” It seemed a logical way for the foundation to demonstrate its commitment to “actively sponsor, support and participate in public forums that impact policy decisions affecting the environment and quality-of-life concerns.” Nearly ninety local residents attended this day-long event held in July 2007.
Following two more well attended public meetings a very substantial majority of those who attended supported the idea that river and stream setbacks in the Madison Valley should be extended to all riverfront parcels, not just to parcels contained within subdivisions. That desire was made known to the three Madison County Commissioners and on October 23, 2007 the commissioners passed a resolution asking the Madison County Planning Department to come up with language for a DRAFT setback ordinance. Two more public forums were subsequently held, in January 2008 and late April 2008.
At the same time, it became apparent to the County Planning Department that the initial draft ordinance would require substantial revision. A nine member Citizens Advisory Committee was established. The Foundation’s Executive Director, Richard Lessner is a member of this committee. He was asked to participate directly by the Planning Department. He was not put forth by the Foundation, was given no mandate or instruction by the Foundation and serves, like every other member, as an interested, involved individual citizen who contributes his or her best ideas to try to hammer out an ordinance that fulfills the mandate given to the committee by the Madison County Commissioners.
Since the ordinance is still in its draft stages and since very substantive changes have already been made in the draft language, the Madison River Foundation has taken no stance and has no opinion on the draft in its current state and has no intention of doing so until the work of the Citizens Advisory Committee has been completed. As of this date (June 27, 2008) the board of the Madison River Foundation has not debated or even discussed the proposed draft ordinance. To do so would be like declaring the winner of a football game midway into the first quarter.
Once the committee has finished its draft, it will be submitted to the Madison County Planning Board with a recommendation whether it be implemented or not. The Planning Board will then debate at public meetings whether to recommend the draft, (as submitted or further revised) to the Madison County Commission for adoption or not. Then the County Commission will schedule public meetings to further discuss the potential ordinance.
As is quite apparent, there will be ample time and opportunity for discussion of the merits of the proposed ordinance and whether it fits with Key Objective III of the Foundation’s 2008 Strategic Plan: “Become an advocate for the Madison River on public policy issues that affect the environmental quality of the watershed.”
In the meantime, and not surprisingly, this issue has become quite controversial and very divisive in a community that is not accustomed to such rancor. While the county’s ordinance-drafting process continues, participants in the Madison Growth Solutions process also continue to sit around a table trying to find common ground. Whether the entire process succeeds in finding the best solution to a divisive issue or declines into the usual we versus they, me against you, haves against have-nots, depends on those who remain engaged and involved in seeking ways to deal with the many issues that face this valley as it continues to grow.
O’Dell Creek May 21 : The Madison River Foundation will help plant willows and cottonwoods on a newly restored section of O’Dell Creek on Saturday, May 31st. This work is on the next phase of the award-winning O’Dell Headwaters restoration project on the Granger Ranch just south of Ennis.
“We need volunteers!” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the foundation. “We’ll be planting 2,200 willows and cottonwoods along several thousand feet of restored creek. This is an opportunity for people to get some real boots-in-the-water conservation work experience.”
The Foundation will provide lunch and soft drinks. If you can help, please email the foundation at or call the Foundation office, 682-3148. The foundation needs to know how many lunches to order.
Volunteers will assemble in the Lions Club Park parking lot in Ennis at 9 am Saturday, May 31, and drive out to the O’Dell Creek Ranch. Ranch owner Jeff Laszlo will have shovels and spud bars. Volunteers should bring gloves and mud boots or waders.
“The restoration of these wetlands, drained 50 years ago to provide for hay production and grazing, has returned a vital riparian area to nature,” Lessner said. “Trout are again spawning in this tributary of the Madison and wildlife and numerous bird species have returned in abundance to the area. If you have not had the opportunity to see the restored area it is well worth coming out just to view this remarkable restoration. You will not be disappointed. This project is a model of private landowner/public agency cooperation.”
Original Larry Zabel Painting to be Auctioned at Foundation Banquet March 10 : An original painting by nationally renowned Montana wildlife artist Larry Zabel will be auctioned at the Madison River Foundation’s annual Gala Banquet on June 27th. The proceeds of the live auction will benefit the work of the Foundation. The banquet will be held on the banks of the Madison River at Buffalo Jump Pasture on the Sun Ranch in Cameron.
“Larry Zabel is one of America’s best know and most respected Western artists,” said Foundation executive director Richard Lessner. “Larry’s paintings of cowboys, Native Americans and Montana wildlife are highly prized by collectors nationwide. The Foundation is honored that Larry has so generously offered to donate an original painting. The funds raised will help with the work of the Foundation, including such projects as stream restoration on Wigwam and Lake Creek in the Gravelly Range, as well as a survey of river users and landowners we will be conducting this summer in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.”
Some of Larry Zabel’s work can be viewed at www.larryzabel.com, the Hole in the Wall Gallery in Ennis and Montana Trails Gallery in Bozeman. Larry was born in Minnesota. He and his wife, Sharon, moved to Montana in 1988 and today reside on a ranch in McAllister.
“The work to be auctioned will be an original painting especially created by the artist for the Foundation banquet,” Lessner said. “Anyone who admires Larry’s work will want to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire one of his original paintings, and at the same time help the Foundation and its mission “to preserve, protect and enhance the Madison River.”
The keynote address at the banquet will be delivered by M. Jeff Hagener, Director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. For reservations or more information about the banquet please call the Foundation office at 682-3148.
Foundation Recognizes Outstanding Ennis Science Fair Projects with Annual Awards February 11 : The Madison River Foundation awarded $100 prizes to three winners of the Ennis Elementary and High School 2008 Science Fair. This year’s winners were:
- Courtney Glines, 10th Grade, for her project “What’s in the Water?” Courtney’s ambitious project monitored water quality in the Madison River from Quake Lake to Warm Springs over a period of four years. Courtney particularly measured agricultural and residential runoff and how it impacts water quality. Courtney also won a Foundation award in 2007 for this ongoing water quality project.
- Race Owens’ project “How Grain Size Affects Water Absorption” measured how different soils absorb water at different rates and amounts. This projects directly bears on such issues as well location and capacity, aquifer and ground water recharge and depletion. Race is in the 4th Grade.
- Ever wonder how fish swim? Wylie Leo, 5th Grade, constructed an artificial robotic fish for his project “Sink or Swim!” to demonstrate how fish use their fins to propel themselves through the water.
“Congratulations to all those students who participated in this year’s Science Fair and especially those who captured awards from the Foundation,” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the Madison River Foundation. “The Foundation is delighted to support the science fair with awards that recognize outstanding projects bearing upon water-related issues.”
Foundation Awards $1,000 Grant to CERI for Wildlife Study February 11 : The Madison River Foundation has awarded a $1,000 grant to the Craighead Environmental Research Institute (CEI) of Bozeman to help fund a study of wildlife in the Madison Valley.
“CERI is working with landowners, public land and resource managers, county government, conservationists, and developers in a collaborative process to develop a Wildlife Conservation Overlay for the Madison Valley,” said Lance Craighead, executive director of the institute. “The goal is ensure that all species of wildlife have the living space needed to thrive.”
In 2007 CERI synthesized model results from the Madison Valley Wildlife Conservation Assessment into a simplified Conservation Overlay to help the Madison County Planning Board implement guidelines for the subdivision review process. The more detailed overlay will identify areas of the Valley that are critical habitat for maintaining wildlife resources in a time of rapid population growth and development.
“The Madison Valley is one of the most intact ecosystems in the greater Yellowstone area, indeed in the whole of the northern Rockies,” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the Madison River Foundation. “The CERI overlay project will help guide growth and development in the Valley in ways that are compatible with protecting and preserving the area’s abundant wildlife resources.”
“Currently there is no formal planning process that requires conservation of critical wildlife habitat,” Craighead said. The CERI overlay will provide the framework for a science-based mechanism to help guide the planning process.
“The Madison River Foundation is pleased to be able to help CERI develop this wildlife overlay,” Lessner said. “We believe we can plan wisely in ways that allow for growth and development in the Valley, while protecting and preserving our abundant wildlife resources.”
Foundation Establishes Dick McGuire Memorial Fund January 9 : The Madison River Foundation in cooperation with Blue Ribbon Flies of West Yellowstone, Montana, has announced the creation of a special conservation fund in the memory of longtime guide and wild trout advocate Dick McGuire. “Dick passed away in July while fishing Ennis Lake,” said Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies, a longtime friend. Dick had a lifelong love affair with the Madison River, which he fished for almost 80 years.
“Dick was most proud of his conservation work. He almost single-handedly introduced the idea of managing the Madison for wild trout. His efforts, supported by the research of state biologists, led to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks ceasing to plant hatchery-raised, catchable-sized trout first in the Madison and eventually in rivers statewide.”
The Dick McGuire Memorial Fund will be managed by the Madison River Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Ennis, MT, whose mission is “to preserve, protect and enhance the Madison River for the mutual benefit of wildlife and all those who use the river.” “The McGuire Memorial Fund will be used to help fund worthy projects aimed at conserving the Madison River and other wild trout waters in Montana,” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the foundation. “We can think of no more appropriate way to honor the memory of Dick McGuire. The foundation is grateful to Craig and Jackie Mathews for taking the leadership role in founding the memorial fund and providing the seed money to get it started.”
“Dick stepped up to the plate many times on behalf of the Madison River,” said Craig Mathews. “We hope Dick’s many friends will step up to support this fund in his memory to continue the work he believed in so passionately. We can stand for the things Dick stood for and support through the Madison River Foundation projects to preserve and protect the river he loved.”
Tax deductible contributions should be sent to the Dick McGuire Memorial Fund at the Madison River Foundation, P.O. Box 1527, Ennis, MT, 59729
Dilschneider Joins MRF Board of Directors January 2 : Local outfitter and fly fishing guide Joe Dilschneider of Ennis was elected to the Madison River Foundation Board of Directors in December. Dilschneider becomes the Foundation’s ninth director. Dilschneider is an outfitter and owner of Montana Trout Stalkers. He has been a professional guide for 15 years and has called Ennis home since 1995. A native of St. Louis, MO, Joe holds a degree in environmental studies from the University of Colorado. He is a Coast Guard licensed charter boat captain and a regional director of FOAM, Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana. He is married and has two daughters.
“Joe Dilschneider brings an abundance of talent to the Foundation’s board,” said executive director Richard Lessner. The Foundation’s officers and other directors know that Joe offers more to the Foundation than simply the perspective of a fishing guide. Joe is very knowledgeable on a wide range of conservation and environmental issues. “Joe’s expertise will be a valuable addition to an already strong board of directors. We’re delighted that he is willing to serve on the Foundation board and help to advance our mission to preserve, protect and enhance the Madison River for all who use this incomparable resource.”
