Knee deep in a Montana Cesspool

[flyty]

I thought one of this week's FAOL articles deserved some more advertising:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/readerscast/

[J Castwell]

Thank you, and from a 'junior' member as well. I agree with you totally.

[DShock]

I read an article on the internet that said Montana is a big state with a sparse population. That fact seems to point to trouble with effective enforcement of drug makers camped on streams. Is there a problem with covering the state of Montana, pertaining to trash dumpers??
Are there any organizations that are dedicated to keeping the rivers free of trash?? I also read that recycling is more difficult in Montana?
Thanks,
Doug

[flybop]

That story is very disturbing and I would be ticked if I found that stuff on my little secret pristine Montana stream. However, please do not think that this is as widespread as Don's article implies. I have been way back on many high mountain Montana streams and thankfully I have never seen anything like this. Also, the trash problem on our major rivers is very low, at least on the rivers I have fished. Yes, there is the occasional trash (I picked up a few beer cans today), but please do not think that our rivers are flowing trash dumps. The sad thing is that all it takes is a few total jerks to ruin a place like Don's stream. I hope the meth heads who did that to your stream get caught and thrown in jail for poisining not just our wilderness, but our kids as well.

There is unfortunately a widespread problem with meth in Montana. Many of the rural areas in our country have been infested with this horrible and dispicable crap. The thought of putting a batch of chemicals in your body that was thrown together by some loser who could not pass a high school chemisrty class is beyound me.

In Montana we have an extremely low tolerance for trash. It is far more common to see Montanans picking up micro trash like cig butts and bottle caps than it is to see more visible trash laying around. One cig butt way in the back country is one too many.

[oldschoolcane]

This isn't unique to MT, you'll find it happening most anywhere.....here in the Ozarks the rivers are overrun with people that float, drink and smoke pot while on the stream. The Missouri water patrol trys to monitor this on the most heavily populated weekends but they can only cover so much territory. Why should we be surprised that this is happening? This goes on in the cities and rural parts of the country, I can't stand to fish some of the rivers during the summer, people are littering and smoking, dumping there beer cans in the water and theres no one to stop them.


Tim

[JohnScott]

I don't fish in Montana much, and only occasionally in Wyoming, but I was thinking about those places and the ones I fish here in Idaho while reading Don's article.

Couldn't think of a single place of the few I've seen in Montana and Wyoming or the many here that has any trash problem at all. In places where there are a lot of campers, you'll fine a few butts, or cans or plastic scraps, etc.

Flybop pointed out the meth problem in Montana. It is probably worse there than anywhere in this part of the region. And Montana is not just big, it is HUGE. Effective law enforcement against meth labs would be almost impossible.

Don's stream is a disgrace - but it is also, to my experience, a rare exception. We all need to do our part to keep it that way.

[shadesofsisyphus]

Having moved out to Montana from Boston, I was initially surprised to find the utter lack of trash in almost every place I went. I used to be the guy that would put his empty plastic cup into his empty food bag and throw it out the window as I went down the road (I know I know... Im sorry ok?) and now, having seen just how incredible it is when there is no trash, I am the guy that puts my cigarette butts in my pocket until I can throw then in a trash can and packs out empty beer cans that I find on the side of the river. heck, I was floating the yellowstone the other day and swam after a beer can that fell out of the cooler we were using to hold the empties rather than let it dirty the river.

I have seen quite a few beer cans in the rivers i fish (probably 20 cans in about a year of fishing 2-3 times a week on average). These are usually left by one or two bad people, but it really does only take one or two to make a bad impression. The meth issue is one that I feel pretty darn strongly about, so Im gonna let that dog lie for the moment.

[ausable_ny]

Not unique to Montana is right...I'm amazed at the number of slobs we have here in NY. I fish a lot of areas that are fairly close....1-1/2 to 3 hrs....from New York City and I'm simply dumbfounded by the amount of trash I end up packing out with me. I always carry a large kitchen trash bag in a pocket of my vest, and more often than not, it ends up full when I leave the fishing area. I've never understood where the difficulty lies in packing out what you packed in. Is it really that much to ask? I'm headed up to the Adirondacks to fish the Ausable and a few more places this Saturday. I'll be gone for 9 days. Although the trash is nowhere near as bad up there as it is closer to NYC, there is still far too much as far as I'm concerned. Maybe it's the mindset of people or something. The closer I get to NYC, the filthier the areas are. Thanks for letting me vent.

Ken

[krauseb]

When I see someone throwing trash on the river bank I tell them to pick it up, or I will call the game warden, it works. I also thank people I see picking up their trash.
My late wife would tell men and boys to pick up their trash, they may argue but they still picked it up.

[BIGSKY]

This is my first post on the BB. Since I am the guy who wrote the "Knee Deep in a Montana Cesspool" article, I felt I should chime in too.

Contrary to what some would like to portray to potential "visitors" of our state, I would like to suggest litter and trash in our streams and on our public lands is a BIG AND WIDESPREAD problem. That should not discourage you from visiting what really is America's "Last Best Place". Besides, the fishing really can be as good as you have heard! It also is (trash or not) one of the most gorgeous places on the planet. I lived in Alaska for 15 years and have been in Montana for 12 years. In my mind, Montana truly is heaven on earth. Onward...

Is what I found in regards to used hypodermic needles and drug manufacturing items in the stream the exception? I imagine it is and sure as heck hope so. But as far as most folks are concerned; exception or not, it is flat unacceptable!

I found it interesting (if not coincidental) that 3 periodical magazines I just received over the past couple of weeks, also had articles about litter and garbage in their newest issues (American Angler, National Geographic, and TROUT). Thankfully, other people are seeing the problem around our great Country and writing about it as well.

As far as someone suggesting Montana does not have a widespread trash problem: Here is a personal 3 week perspective beyond what I already wrote about... I fished both the North and South Boulder Rivers, St. Regis River, Fish Creek & Ruby River (all within the past three weeks). One visit to each of these 5 streams resulted in at least one 30 gallon garbage bag full of garbage from each stream, picked up in no more than 1-2 miles of walking on each stream. You be the judge my friends: Is this a "trash problem" or not?

If you subscribe to TROUT magazine, I encourage you to check out the recent summer issue. Highlighted in that issue is the great work the members of the Joe Brooks TU chapter accomplished. Here is the jest of it: This past April on our Nations beloved Yellowstone River, the chapter banded together and filled up 30 drift boats (yes, thirty boats!) full of 11,000 pounds of garbage (yes, eleven thousand pounds!). If that amount of garbage on a "National Treasure of a river" is not a widespread trash problem, I'm not sure what is? My guess is, if you are lucky enough and are not finding much garbage on the rivers you fish, you were just the beneficiary of someone like this TU Chapter taking a stand and doing something about it. Kudos to them!

Thankfully, I still find relatively unpolluted places in our beautiful state. But, garbage and the despicable type of garbage problems such as I and others are writing about (and trying to fix), is growing with each passing year. If we just sugar coat the problem and say it is really not a big issue, it sure as heck is not going to get any better.

Am I a tad passionate about this problem? You bet! I'm sure you would be too if you stumbled upon what I did 3 weeks ago. My hope is more people will join in and say... "enough is enough!" Together, we can all make a difference on our streams, public lands and on behalf of Mother Nature.

Thanks for reading, thinking about it and responding.

Respectfully,

-Don


"I'm just telling it like it is" - the late, great... Howard Cosell