FWP to consider motorboat ban on Mitchell Slough
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will consider closing some Bitterroot River tributaries to motorized watercraft, but the Fish and Wildlife Commission has insisted on more information to justify the closure.
During Thursday’s Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, commissioners were hesitant to even allow a rulemaking process begin on banning motorized boats on tributaries between the Woodside Crossing and John and Nancy Owen fishing access sites on the Bitterroot River, particularly once it was clear that the Mitchell Slough was a main focus.
“I don’t feel comfortable. I feel like the cart’s before the horse. And I understand the (Montana Administrative Procedures Act) process sorts this out. But I feel like this came before us with sketchy details and data,” said Region 3 commissioner Susan Kirby Brooke.
FWP chief legal counsel Jeff Hindoien said Region 2 managers proposed writing the rule after landowners along that stretch of the Bitterroot River expressed concern about jet boats causing safety concerns in such shallow streams. He said there have been enforcement issues related to conflict between boaters and landowners.
In its proposal, FWP added that boat traffic in tributaries was “potentially damaging to habitat for native fish.” But Region 2 Commissioner Jeff Burrows said FWP hadn’t provided any data to back that up and he questioned why boat traffic would be any worse than wade-fishing when it came to disturbing fish-egg nests called “redds” in the stream bottom along such a short stretch of the river.
Adam Strainer, FWP fisheries chief, said it’s common knowledge that jetboats running over shallow gravels can affect fish eggs, although the impacts are similar to wade-fishing. Rainbow and brown trout are predominant but native fish could be affected. Biologists don’t have that information because they aren’t allowed access to the Mitchell Slough. Region 2 fisheries chief Pat Saffel added that the Mitchell Slough isn’t considered a major spawning area but he was hoping to do some studies if the rulemaking was approved.
But Burrows wasn’t sold. The Bitterroot River has several braided sections, and he questioned whether the rule would apply to other side channels in the future.
“Are there tributaries in this specific section that are more vulnerable to jetboats than others on the Bitterroot? I just want to call a spade a spade. Are we trying to resolve a hunters’ access vs. landowner conflict or are we trying to protect a resource? What I’m hearing right now isn’t jibing, because if there are impacts, you’d close the entire thing, not just a certain section,” Burrows said.
Brooke asked why FWP had enforcement or access issues on the Mitchell Slough when the Montana Supreme Court upheld the public’s right to access the slough.
“Is it too politically charged to speak about?” Brooke said.
The Mitchell Slough has a controversial history because it flows through the property of a number of rich landowners, including broker Charles Schwab and rock musician Huey Lewis. It was once a side channel of the Bitterroot River but now needs a headgate to keep river water flowing into the 16-mile-long slough that dumps back into the river. For generations, it was a popular fishing stream, but the new landowners started stringing fences across the slough to keep people out. They said it was an irrigation ditch and therefore Montana’s stream access law didn’t apply.
The grassroots Bitterroot River Protective Association challenged that claim in court. After years of legal arguments, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the slough/side channel roughly followed the century-old historic course of a waterway and therefore was subject to public access and permitting like other natural waterways. The case helped reinforce Montana’s stream access laws.
That hasn’t stopped the landowners from trying to limit public access to the slough. In November 2024, Bitterroot Springs Ranch owner Ken Siebel requested a 310-permit from the Bitterroot Conservation District to install 16 fences across the slough as a way to delineate property boundaries. The permit wasn’t approved.
On Thursday, Region 4 commissioner KC Walsh made the motion to approve the rulemaking process so FWP could study the issue and the public could add their comments. At the end of the process, if it still had concerns, the commission could make amendments based on submitted comments. In the meantime, Walsh suggested that perhaps a citizens working group could help devise a solution.
“I agree we need a lot more detail. But I reflect on where we wound up on the Boulder River. This strikes me as a parallel story to the Boulder River and motorized craft on the Boulder. I think we ended up in a really good place and that occurred during the MAPA process,” Walsh said.
In August 2020, several landowners along the Boulder River south of Big Timber requested a rule to ban motorized use on the river. The increasing use and limited access had led to an increase in user conflict, and the addition of motorized craft could make things worse. FWP created an advisory group, which recommended banning motorized craft, except between April 1 and Sept. 30 when boats with motors of 10 horsepower or less would be allowed. The commission approved the rule.
During Thursday’s meeting, one of the jetboaters, Zach Polanski, said the proposed rule wasn’t necessary because there aren’t many jetboats, they go no faster than 15 miles per hour, and his group uses only the bottom mile of the Mitchell Slough. So there was no safety issue, Polanski said.
Other sportsmen supported the rulemaking, although some, including Trevor Anderson of Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, said the rule should be more specific - if the Mitchell Slough is the focus, it should be specified in the rule. Anderson said motorized use on the Bitterroot was intended to be limited to small prop-driven motors to limit stream disturbance and waterfowl hunters don’t want to lose the ability to run small boats during hunting season.
Jeff Lucas of Trout Unlimited said the slough might not provide a lot of spawning habitat but it does provide refuge areas for juvenile trout, which is just as important. Tom Puchlerz lives and fishes near the Mitchell Slough and said he has seen spawning fish and several reds. He stressed the importance of protecting spawning and refuge areas, considering the declining trout numbers in the Stevensville monitoring area of the Bitterroot River.
“Until the last three years, motorized use occurred in the main channel and not the tribs. Never in my dreams did I think motorized use would occur in small tributaries that are disproportionately valuable to our fish and wildlife,” Puchlerz said. “I encourage the commission to look to the future. Use levels are continuing to increase. What are only a couple individuals using motorized craft in the tributaries today will increase in the future. Technology advances will also continue. Already, we have motorized paddleboards on the market.”
In the end, five of seven commissioners voted in favor of proceeding with rulemaking.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.