Page 5 - Flathead Beacon // 5.21.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
MAY 21, 2014 | 5

NEWS

WORDS
••••
of the Week

Tribes Move Forward with

AN INDEX OF
RECENT
NEWSMAKERS
Gill-Netting in Flathead Lake

REMINGTON
The major irearms company
announced last week that it

was shutting down Montana Experimental suppres-
Rileman in Kalispell, which sion of lake trout shows
Remington purchased in 2013.
(STORY, PAGE 68)
positive results

By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
COACHES
Whiteish has a new boys The Confederated Salish and Koote-
basketball head coach – nai Tribes have begun eforts to remove
Bigfork’s Josh Downey – while
the University of Montana is about 100,000 non-native lake trout from
looking for one now that Wayne Flathead Lake in 2014, using gill netting,
Tinkle is headed to Oregon State recreational angling and ishing contests
University.
to achieve the goal.
The decision to move forward with
gill-netting, which generated intense con-
troversy between state and federal agen-
SAGE GROUSE
cies, comes after an extensive environ-
Montana wildlife oicials are mental analysis of the efects of the prac-
proposing to cancel sage grouse tice, as well as other methods of lake trout
hunting this fall as populations suppression, which are outlined under the
of the large upland game bird Flathead Lake and River Fisheries Co-
continue to decline.
Management Plan.
The 2014 plan sets a harvest target of An angler competing in Mack Days on Flathead Lake. FLATHEAD BEACON FILE PHOTO
between 90,000 and 100,000 lake trout,

MURDER-FOR-HIRE
and separates harvest by methods that competed native bull trout populations, native bull trout and westslope cutthroat
include general recreational harvest, the which have diminished.
trout. The co-management plan, which
Dennis Jay Hobbs, 56, of Mack Days ishing contest and netting. Additionally, 2,487 lake whiteish expired in 2010, relied on recreational
Polson, is accused of trying This target igure represents about a 30 were netted. Like Mack Days, the ish were ishing pressure and contests to control
to hire someone to kill his ex- percent increase in the harvest measured donated to local food banks.
lake trout abundance.
girlfriend to prevent her from over the last several years.
Hansen said the high rate of bycatch With the expiration of the 10-year
testifying against him at his CSKT isheries biologist Barry Han- of whiteish was unfortunate, but that the management plan, the tribe began a Na-
rape trial.
sen, who led the Environmental Im- crews adjusted the depth of their gill net- tional Environmental Policy Act process

pact Statement process, said the tribes ting and signiicantly reduced the number to develop a new science-based plan for a
CONGRATS
launched the irst phase of netting during of whiteish inadvertently caught.
reduction of the bloated lake trout popu-
the last two weeks of April.
The major points of contention be- lation in order to beneit native ish in the
This week, the Beacon An experienced netting team trained tween the state FWP and the tribes are lake and river system.
celebrates some of FVCC’s tribal oicials and, in eight days of netting, whether bull trout populations in the Alienated from that discussion is the
most recent graduates. caught 5,232 lake trout. One bull trout was Flathead River Basin have improved or tribe’s longtime partner, the FWP, which
Congratulations to all who inadvertently captured and immediately stabilized since 2000, when the tribe and separated itself from the process in a
received their diplomas,
certiicates and degrees this released, so no mortality of bull trout re- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which public sign of disapproval in March 2012.
spring.
sulted from the netting – a major bench- share isheries management authority on FWP, which is charged with the dual mis-
(STORY, PAGE 17)
mark of success, Hansen said.
Flathead Lake, adopted the Flathead Lake sion of maintaining a recreational ishery
Since the explosion of non-native lake and River Fisheries Co-Management Plan
trout in Flathead Lake, the ish have out-
with a goal of increasing the abundance of
See Netting PAGE 22

TRUCKLOAD
All kayaks, SUP’s and

KAYAK SALE
accessories

on sale!

MAY 21-24

RSBRANDS INCLUDE:
eplay poRtS
EDDYLINE, EMOTION, TRIBUTARY,
AQUABOUND, KOKATAT, STOHLQUIST
406-752-5005
2593 Hwy 2 East, Kalispell
WWW.REPLAYSPORTSMT.COM Corner of Hwy. 2 E. & E. Reserve