Montana News Roundup: Critical Move Helps River With Drought

As drought continues to be an accelerating problem this summer again in Western Montana, Governor Gianforte says the state and Butte-Silver Bow leaders are launching an agreement to release more water into the Clark Fork River.

The Clark Fork and many of its tributaries are moving into another summer of a multi-year, "extreme drought", which is placing a lot of pressure on fisheries and wildlife, as well as ranches, farms, and residents.

Under the agreement announced yesterday, Butte-Silver Bow will release an additional 32 cubic feet of water per second from Silver Lake into Warm Springs Creek for the next 47-days.

      That should help delay the river from reaching critical levels.

READ MORE: Help Needed as Blackfoot Runs Dry

Heat leads to more "hoot owl" fishing closures

Rising water temperatures are forcing Montana FWP to implement more "hoot owl" fishing restrictions this afternoon. That will impact sections of the Ruby, Jefferson, Big Hole, Beaverhead, and also the Smith River. The order limits fishing in the afternoons, giving fish a chance to stay in cooler water in the deep holes.

More fires, but most remain small

Hot, windy weather is leading to more fire starts across the state, with Montana DNRC reporting 16-near fires starting in the 24-hours through last night, with 60-active blazes across the state.

Most of the new fires have remained small, burning quickly but under 10 acres.

The Cedar Creek Fire southeast of Broadus had burned 44-acres.

The Green Mountain and Garnet fires had burned about 20 acres each in the Garnet Range east of Missoula.

     Crews have achieved full containment now on the largest blaze in the state, the 34-hundred acre Wilder Fire in Fergus County.

Will Yellowstone set a new tourist record in '25?

It's too soon to say for certain, but it's looking like Yellowstone National Park may be on pace to at least challenge the record for annual visits.

The park reports that over 928,000 people visited the park in June, a 1% increase from last year. However, that's about 10,000 fewer people than when travel was spiking in 2021. That's the year that broke all records with over 4.8 million visits for the year.

However, year-to-date totals are actually up 6% from '21 and 4% from last year, so the park could end up close to record territory again.

Now Pride flag debate comes to Bozeman

The debate over Pride flags is moving from Missoula to Bozeman, where dozens of people packed the City Commission meeting to debate whether the flag should be flown over city hall.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports Mayor Terry Cunningham explained the question isn't up for consideration until next week, but that didn't stop people from expressing their opinions for 2 hours.

MT Food Bank Network is thrilled with donation

Leaders of the Montana Food Bank Network are expressing their heartfelt thanks for last week's donation from Shania Twain's Foundation, $25,000.

MFBN CEO Gayle Carlson is praising the star's generosity and dedication to feeding the hungry.

"The Shania Twain Foundation was incredible leading up to this," Carlson tells me. "And they were very complimentary of our organization. Very cooperative and very organized."

"We had that opportunity to meet Shania that night with the check presentation. Just an amazing woman."

"Really, deeply in her heart she wants to support for food security in the states that she visits" - Gayle Carlson, MFBN CEO

      The Foundation had said that's enough to provide meals for 100,000 Montanans in the coming months.