Canoes. Pontoon boats. Drift boats. Rafts. Inner tubes. A rainbow spectrum of colorful plastic kayaks.
I saw people enjoying all of these craft and more recently when I escaped the midsummer heat for a few hours on the Middle Fork of the Flathead.
I’ve been floating these rivers for nearly 30 years now and am still spellbound by the beauty of their clear waters flowing over polished cobble. The Flathead and its three main tributaries are simply mesmerizing, even if you never look up.
No wonder the Forks of the Flathead were among the rivers that inspired the national Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Along with the White Cliffs Section of the Missouri, these are the only streams conserved under this law in Montana.
Kids in school learn about how Montanans dammed the Kootenai, Missouri and other rivers. And that is an important part of our history. But it’s also important to remember the dams that were proposed that we elected not to build. Like the ones at Glacier Rim up the North Fork or Spruce Park up the Middle Fork, that would have flooded big stretches of Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Montana is blessed with special rivers and streams. These include the East Rosebud Creek on the Beartooth Front. Today, the Montana Congressional Delegation is pushing a bill to conserve that stream under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.
Meanwhile, a coalition of sportsmen, river businesses, and conservationists are working together to identify other streams that are worthy of special conservation measures. You can learn more at www.healthyriversmt.org.
Let’s encourage the entire Montana Congressional Delegation to conserve Montana’s finest rivers, for our use today and long into the future. The East Rosebud is a fine place to start.
Ben Long
Kalispell