waters. It w~s necessary to ask for special 

 consideration on 20 of these. On certain proj- 

 ects the department asked that a length of 

 roadway be moved to avoid irreparable dam- 

 age to a stream. On other projects new mean- 

 ders were requested to replace those cut off 

 from the natural stream. In other situations the 

 department asked that channels with pools 

 and riffles be built to replace those eliminated 

 and that brushy stream-bank vegetation be 

 replanted to replace some which had been 

 des'royed. Apparently these requests were con- 

 sidrred reasonable for not one was denied. 

 It was not necessary, therefore, to submit any 

 project to arbitraion. 



Of the 62 legal notices received and re- 

 viewed, 52 came from the Highway Depart- 

 ment. The remaining 10 were sent in by cities 

 or counties. 



It would be ideal if all streamside construc- 

 tion were covered by the law; however, the 

 law is limited to agencies of the slate govern- 

 ment, municipalities, counties and other sub- 

 divisions of the state. Since 1963, through co- 

 operative agreements, several federal agencies 

 have followed the intent of the law. These 

 agencies include the Soil Conservation Service, 

 Bureau of Public Roads, Bureau of Reclama- 

 tion, Bureau of Sporis Fisheries and Wildlife, 

 Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment. The Fish and Game Department also 

 has fairly satisfactory working arrangements 

 with the three major railroad companies in 

 Montana — Northern Pacific, Great Northern and 

 Milwaukee. More inclusive legislation would 

 be most beneficial to the stream preservation 

 effort; however, much has been accomplished 

 with the laws provided. 



Pollution Control 



The State Board of Health administers Mon- 

 tana's stream pollution law. The Fish and 

 Game Department's pollution control biologist 

 works as a member of the Board's pollution 

 control team. 



The pollution control picture is brighter than 

 it was a decade ago. There are relatively few 

 instances of gross industrial or domestic pollu- 

 tion. Also, considerable progress has been 

 mode by agencies involved in extensive pest 

 control programs. The trend is leading to less 

 persistent pesticides which are more specifi 

 caliy aimed at the target organisms. Neverlho 

 less, fisli kills still occur from use of pBsticides, 

 No doubt some kills are unreported. Existing 

 legislation does not provide for adequate con- 

 trol of these recurring pssticide-caused fish kills 



Silt from soil erosion is the most serious wide 

 spread pollutant in Montana's waters. It lowers 

 over-all water quality and has a great effect 



on boh plants and animals living in the water. 

 Department ressarch on Bluewater Creek near 

 Fromberg has shown that stream bed siltation 

 causes a heavy loss of trout eggs. The silt 

 reduces percolat'on of water through stream 

 bottom gravels. This reduces the amount of 

 oxygen availoble to the eggs. The eggs are 

 literally smothered as are stream dwelling in- 

 sects that adult trout feed uocn. On the o'her 

 hand, sucker eggs survive nicely in silty 

 streams. In othei words, when the bottom of 

 a trout stream is covered with silt, game fish 

 numbers will decrease and trash fish will in- 

 crease and dominate. 



Research is continuing in an effort to deter- 

 mine if ditch lining and streambank fencing 

 will control soil erosion to an extent that a 

 stream can be restored to conditions favorable 

 for game fish 



Water Resources Development 

 Section Established 



The review of other agencies proposed water 

 development construction projects and determi- 

 nation of their effect on Montana's fishery re- 

 sources has been an important Fish Division 

 activity during the biennium. This has included 

 negotiations to insure the best possible water 

 conditions for fish in reservoirs and in the 

 streams below reservoirs. The work has been 

 largely connected with projects of the Bureau 

 of Reclamation and U. S. Army Corps of En- 

 gineers. In addition, some work has been con- 

 cerned with Federal Power Commission licenses 

 and witli projects of the Soil Conservauon cserv- 

 ice. Bureau of Land Management and U. S. 

 Forest Service. 



The Fish Division is also involved in the 

 construction of fishing lakes and, as the oppor- 

 tunity arises, in helping others construct fish- 

 ing lakes. In addition the division helps set up 

 plans for the statewide recreational waterway 

 system. 



Montana is entering a new era of water re- 

 sources planning and development as exempli- 

 fied by the proposed Water Conservancy Law. 

 It is obvious that if the department does not 

 intensify its own planning in the water re- 

 sources field, fish and game interests will con- 

 tinue to be on the outside of planning groups 

 and their decisions. Without a voice in plan- 

 ning, the department's position loo often be- 

 comes a position of opposition after the plan- 

 ning is done. In order to meet the challenge, 

 the Fish and Game Commission has authorized 

 the establisiiment of a Water Resources Devel- 

 opment Seciion in the Fish Division. Starting 

 in September 1966 programming and project 

 review responsibilities will be assigned to this 

 section. 



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