The Jeff is another river benefiting from TU’s Home Rivers Initiative. Bruce Rehwinkel, Project Coordinator for the Jefferson Home River effort, is no stranger to the area. He was the region’s Fisheries Biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) from 1978 until 1990.

Working for TU provides Bruce with the opportunity to continue to assist the trout fishery he knows so well.

Like many western rivers, the Jefferson is over-appropriated during drought years. In other words, irrigators hold water rights for over 100% of the water. My mother is a math teacher, but none of us need her help to understand that this doesn’t leave anything for the trout.

Before TU hired Bruce, the Jefferson River Watershed Council (JRWC) was already working closely with irrigators on a drought management plan. Just like with other initiatives from coast-to-coast, TU recognized the good work that was already happening and jumped in to assist with a full-time staffer. Bruce works closely with the JRWC to help the Jefferson cope with the drought.

The fundamental first step during low summer flows is working with the irrigators to leave a little water in the stream. Bruce and JRWC aim for 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Waterloo Bridge, just below the head gate of a big irrigation ditch. Fifty cfs is still a very low flow, but it is certainly an improvement from the late summer flows, or lack thereof, in the mid-80s when the stream was reduced to damp gravel.

When the water gets low, representatives from the ditch companies, the local irrigators, FWP, JRWC members, and Bruce sit down to try to work out how a little more water can make it down the streambed.

The objective is to coordinate consumption. For example, if one ranch has already cut a crop of hay, they might be willing to let some of their water flow down the channel. The next week, another ranch might cut and then their water can stay in the river while the first ranch begins irrigating the new crop. The meetings are designed to figure out who is using what water when so the ditch managers knows exactly how much water is needed.

Bruce told me the ditch companies have been “wonderful.” “Without them, we wouldn’t have a drop in the river,” he added.

The river is the lifeblood for these ranches, but many local ranchers are willing to sacrifice some of their water to keep the channel wet. These families have lived here for generations and most of the locals have great respect for the land.

Furthermore, these agreements are made with a handshake and faith in the other parties involved. The ranchers are willing to give up their water during low flows with a gentleman’s agreement, not a common occurrence in the water-poor west. Everyone has heard the Mark Twain quote (paraphrased): “In the west, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over.”

Bruce and the JRWC have also brought in engineers to assess the water delivery system for efficiency. If less water is lost during delivery, more can be left in the river. Bruce hopes to help the ditch companies implement some of the recommendations, such as new headgates. Unfortunately, a lot of the inefficiencies in the system are upstream, on the Beaverhead River. Negotiations with irrigators in the Big Hole, the Beaverhead, and the Ruby Valleys are in the works, but these things take time.

During drought years, the 0-1 year old trout are hit the hardest. Fish surveys have shown that recruitment of young of the year is next to nothing after a low flow. It is this loss of baby trout that has led to the overall decline in the total trout population.

To help the young of the year, Bruce and FWP have been working with landowners to restore the valley’s spring creeks. Most of these streams are very small and they flow through private land, but with in-stream improvement work, Bruce has proven that they can produce young rainbow trout.

Bruce started restoring spring creeks in the Jefferson Valley while working for FWP in 1984. There is no way he could have anticipated the success of these efforts. Work includes narrowing the stream channel, restoring the natural meanders, and fencing livestock out of the riparian zone. These improvements create holding water and help the system flush out sediment, exposing quality spawning gravel.

Thanks to spring creek restorations, juvenile rainbow trout populations have increased, despite the overall decrease in total trout numbers.

The river is predominantly a brown trout fishery and the brown trout don’t utilize the spring creeks like the rainbows do. While brown trout numbers have decreased, the size of the average fish has increased. Anglers can't expect to catch many trout on the Jeff, but a high percentage of the fish caught will be hogs.

Bruce and his crew did the first stream improvement with hand tools. Now heavy machinery is used, speeding up the process considerably. At most sites they “finish Friday evening and there are fish in the stream Saturday morning,” Bruce reports.

Trout Unlimited and FWP are currently planning additional spring creek restorations for future field seasons to build on these successes.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks also utilizes voluntary and mandatory closures to protect the fish when high water temperatures become stressful for trout. When I visited the Jeff, the river was too warm to fish. By respecting these closures, anglers can help the river in the long run.

The fact that there are any trout in the Jefferson at all is a testament to the resilience of the fish. As I visit project sites from coast to coast, I am constantly amazed at how well trout do in the face of adversity. We just need to give them a little help and the trout will do the rest.

On the Jefferson, we need to keep enough water in the stream to keep the trout wet. If we can carry the fish, including the young one, through the low flows, we can slowly start to re-build this fine fishery.

Trout Unlimited made a smart decision when they hired Bruce Rehwinkel. It is yet another case of TU hiring the right person and giving them the tools they need to do the right thing. Thanks to the hard work of Bruce, other TUers, the JRWC, FWP, and the local ranchers, the Jefferson is on the mend.

Click HERE to see my photos of the Jefferson River

Click HERE for more information about TU's efforts on the Jefferson