After being stymied by the five-week government shutdown, the committee charged with proposing regulations for the Madison River has made some progress.
The committee, formed by the commission after it rejected a Fish, Wildlife and Parks river plan, has met four times so far. Virtually from the start, tension over how to regulate the river has been evident, particularly between fishing outfitters and those who want to limit commercial use on one of the country’s most famous fly fishing destinations.
LINK (via: Outdoor Livin)
The Madison River Foundation and its mission to protect preserve and enhance the river is facing significant resistance from one group that has more to lose than any other should that mission fail, the outfitters and guides who depend on the Madison river for their livelihoods. As this article points out, the battlelines have been drawn between those that use the river for commercial gain and practically everyone else. The situation has grown dire in Ennis with physical threats having been made against the Foundations executive director. The Madison river is the most heavily fished river in Montana. As a finite resource facing a potentially unlimited use, unless something is done we risk losing what makes the Madison the great river that it is. Hopefully this can be recognized by everyone as something greater than one group’s immediate economic gain.