LETTER: Montana BHA supports the Elbow Lake dam removal

Montana FWP Region 2
Attn: Elbow Lake Dam Removal
3201 Spurgin Rd
Missoula, MT 59804

To Whom it May Concern:

The Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposal to remove a manmade dam on the Clearwater River. Many of our 3,000+ members reside in western Montana and fish and hunt in the Blackfoot drainage, including the Clearwater River.

We support the Alternative to remove this structure. We believe it inhibits upstream movement of native fish, including threatened bull trout, and may create an unnecessary impediment to recreational floating the Clearwater River. In addition, unnecessary impoundments add to the lentic conditions that contribute to increases in water temperature that favor non-native fish such as northern pike. In a time when native fish are already stressed by temperature, this dam adds to the thermal stress issue that promises to get even worse to our western Montana streams in the future.

Sincerely,

Greg Munther, Board Conservation Director
The Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers