I haven’t posted on this before, although debating and planning for this has gone on for years. Yesterday, however, it came to fruition. The old Milltown Dam near Missoula was breached and two very important rivers were made free-flowing again.
There was some positive rhetoric from the politicians. “Sen. Max Baucus, Sen. Jon Tester and other officials told the crowd that the Milltown project represented Montana’s shift from an extraction to a restoration economy, creating jobs that protect the environment and use the state’s natural resources in sustainable ways rather than plundering them.” . . . Missoulian.
Into the breach – Clark Fork, Blackfoot rivers punch through Milltown Dam. By John Cramer. The Missoulian
Some folks may have seen the popular movie, A River Runs through It. It centered on the “Big Blackfoot” river, but was mostly shot on the Gallatin River as a standin because of the damage done to the Big Blackfoot over the years.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
