the water downstream, even though the downstream water right leased by FWP had a higher 

 priority date. 



We are educating the commissioners about how the instream flow water lease is supposed to 

 work. Commissioners who have remained on the job for more than one year now have a better 

 understanding of the concept of instream flow and have tried to do a good job of administering 

 the water leases. However, as commissioners change, education will have to be a continuing job 

 for FWP so the instream flows are properly maintained. In both 1996 and 1997, however, we 

 had some difficulty getting the leased water from upstream users on Tin Cup Creek. Each 

 summer the creek dropped to about half of the water lease flow. Part of the problem was getting 

 a commissioner appointed on time to deal with low flows. Also, there was apparently a difficult 

 relationship between the commissioner, the district judge and certain other water users as the 

 commissioner was administering everyone's water rights. 



Montana has not suffered a major drought since leases were £q)proved. A drought, or a low flow 

 year, will make lease administration even more difficult. 



The remaining six leases are on streams with fewer or no other water users. Monitoring is done 

 by FWP and there have been no major problems with lease implementation. Again, a drought or 

 low flow year may alter this situation. 



BIOLOGTCAT, MQNTTQRTNG OF LEASE STREAMS 



Biological monitoring is being done on all leases to determine their effectiveness in improving 

 fisheries. Monitoring intensity varies and is currently done by FWP fisheries biologists and 

 graduate students when they are available. FWP currently does not have sufficient staff for 

 intensive monitoring of leases. Local biologists collect data when they can but have many other 

 duties that often conflict with an adequate monitoring program. 



The following is a simimary of the monitoring conducted on each stream through 1997. 

 Monitoring for 1998 is incomplete. 



1. Blanchard Creek . This lease has been in effect since 1994. However, the water right holder 

 began increasing instream flows in 1991. Fish population monitoring is done by the local 

 fisheries biologists. Rainbow trout are the dominant fish in the stream reach affected by the 

 water lease. With additional instream flows, the numbers of rainbow trout over 4 inches in 

 length has improved significantly from 6/100 feet of stream in 1990 to 12-25/100 feet from 1992 

 to 1997 (Appendix B). The numbers of young-of-the-year rainbow trout have fluctuated over 

 this same time period with no clear pattern developing. The diversity of species present, 

 however, increased between 1990 and 1997. In 1990, there were only rainbow, brown and brook 

 trout present. By 1997, cutthroat trout, longnose dace, sculpins, mountain whitefish, large scale 

 suckers and northern squawfish were being collected in the stream reach. 



A-11 



