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Rivers of Change: Science, Policy, and the Environment 2010 Montana AWRA ConferenceKirk Waren, President

Greetings! The Montana Section, American Water Resources Association (AWRA) will take the conference back to the State Capital in 2010, where it has been held every sixth year since 1992. Being the center of politics in Montana, the location suits our theme well. The Montana Legislature created the Water Policy Interim Committee (WPIC) in 2007 to analyze a variety of Montana water laws, policies and issues to determine if the state’s water policies and procedures are working, and if not, how they might be changed.

One result of their ongoing work was the creation of the Groundwater

Investigation Program at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. This new program brings water science into the policymaker’s decision-making process in basins closed to new appropriations of water. The program focuses on the collection of field data and uses state-of-the-art groundwater modeling and other hydrologic tools to address questions about aquifer sustainability and impacts of groundwater use to surface waters. As we heard from Steve Running last year, global warming is likely to lead to environmental change that may aggravate current water use, let alone

additional uses. So, it is truly a time of change for science, policy, and the environment here in Montana.

The conference registration desk will be open Wednesday, October 13, from 10 am until 7 pm. Conference-related activities will start with the optional field trip that afternoon. Busses will begin to load around 12:30,

This year’s field trip promises to be first rate! The Upper Tenmile Creek Mining Area Superfund Site will be the primary focus of the tour. Located in the mountains southwest of Helena, the superfund site is situated in the City of Helena’s watershed and upstream of the Tenmile

Creek Water Treatment Plant. Historic mining has left abandoned mines and acid rock drainage impacting the water quality of Tenmile Creek. Remedial investigations began in 2000. In addition, diversions from the drainage to supply drinking water to Helena residents have reduced instream flows in Tenmile Creek. Recent pine bark beetle infestation and wildfire threat has added additional stresses to the watershed.

The field trip will focus on understanding and discussing the impacts to the drainage and the threats to the City of Helena water supply, the

MONTANA

WATER CENTER

University System

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Red Mountain from Rimini

Rimini and Tenmile Creek Field TripDave Donohue, Treasurer

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Artificial dike along Tenmile Creek

then leave at 1:00 pm for the Tenmile Creek area, a basin that serves as a source of water for the City of Helena and where reclamation of mines has been underway for many years. On our way back to the conference center, we will detour into the Helena Valley where MBMG staff will present an overview of the hydrologic studies taking place there. More field trip details are provided later in the newsletter.

The registration desk is scheduled to open again at 7:30 am Thursday. We will provide coffee early in the morning both conference days. The conference will start at 8:25 am, with opening announcements from the Montana Section AWRA and the Water Center. This will be followed by an update of WPIC committee activities from WPIC staff member Joe Kolman. Two keynote speakers will complete the morning session.

Michael E. Campana is the Director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds, Professor of Geosciences at Oregon State University, Oregon Section-AWRA president, and 2010 President elect of AWRA. Michael’s impressive background in groundwater resources and water resources management has led him to increasing involvement with hydrophilanthropy and communications with public policy decision-makers. He has taught at numerous universities, and worked with international water resources

issues in Central America and Asia. For a glimpse of his achievements, see his Oregon State University web page at http://www.geo.oregonstate.edu/people/faculty/Michael_Campana. There you will find links to some personal website blogs that Michael posts, filled with timely and relevant water resource related discussions. Michael is sure to bring an engaging and applicable discussion about hydrophilanthropy to begin our 2010 conference.

Robert Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona and will present the second keynote session. He returns to the Montana Section AWRA conference, having last spoken at the 2005 conference in Bozeman. Robert is the author of

the highly-acclaimed Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters (Island Press, 2002), and the recently published Unquenchable: America’s Water Crises and What To Do About It. Robert teaches courses about the legal history of the Colorado River and Water Law. For more information about Robert, check out The University of Arizona web page: http://www.law.arizona.edu/faculty/getprofile.cfm?facultyid=36. We anticipate an interesting and informed legal perspective of American water resource policies and issues from Robert.

We’ll break for lunch (on your own) late in the morning. After lunch, two concurrent technical sessions will begin and run all afternoon. The poster session and social will be from 5 to 7 pm. As usual, we will provide a great selection of locally brewed beers on tap. The last conference activities on Thursday will be the banquet with a presentation by Rich Moy, former long-time Water Management Bureau Chief for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Chair of the Flathead Basin Commission. Rich has played a vital role in ongoing negotiations to safeguard the headwaters of the Flathead River in Canada and will speak about his involvement with the Commission.

Friday’s activities will include two technical sessions beginning at 8:20 am. A closing plenary is scheduled to begin late in the morning for announcements, student

2010-2011 Montana Section AWRA Officers, Staff, and Contact Information

President: Kirk Waren MBMG, Butte 406.496.4866 kwaren@mtech.edu

Vice President: Eric Chase MT DNRC, Helena 406.444.0578 echase@mt.gov

Secretary/Treasurer: David Donohue, P.G. HydroSolutions Inc 406.443-6169 DavidD@hydrosi.com

Executive Secretary: Margie Patton Montana Tech, Butte 406.496.4102 mpatton@mtech.edu

Questions about the meeting agenda, contact: Steve Guettermann Montana Water Center 406.994.1772 stephen.guettermann @montana.edu

Questions about meeting registration, contact: Nancy Hystad Montana Water Center 406.994.6690 nancy.hystad @montana.edu

http://awra.org/state/montana

Rivers of Change ... continued from page 1

Michael E. Campana

Robert Glennon

2010 Poster SessionEric Chase, Vice-President

The Thursday evening poster session will take place shortly after the afternoon oral presentations wrap up. The poster session provides a great opportunity for participants to personally present their technical work and offers great networking opportunities. This is also a chance for student poster presenters to compete for cash awards for first and second place student posters. Nearly 35 professional and student posters, representing many facets of water and aquatic habitat research in Montana, will be on hand.

As in past years, we will enjoy several kegs of locally crafted beer and hors d’oeuvres that suit the occasion. The poster session is a great opportunity

to visit with peers and open the more social part of the meeting. As mentioned, keynote speaker Robert Glennon will be at the poster session to sign his new book, Unquenchable, and field questions. Books will be on sale at the session.

Education and libation make for a great poster and social session.

2010 Photo ContestEric Chase, Vice-President

MT AWRA V.P. Eric Chase is in charge of this year’s banquet photo contest. Eric is now accepting your latest and greatest water resources photos. Any and all photos related to Montana’s water resources and water resource professionals and students will be considered. These can be scenic, technical, recreational, or humorous! There will be prizes for the winners of each photo category. Send photos to Eric Chase by September 15, or call (406) 444-0578. All photos will automatically be considered for the 2011 Montana Water Center Calendar unless participants contact Steve Guettermann. Baring Creek, Glacier National Park

Credit: Eric Regensberger

citizen advisory groups, and future reclamation that is planned. On the return to Helena, we will stop and “arm-wave” about the ongoing hydrogeologic studies by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in the Helena Valley. The MBMG was authorized by the 2008 legislature to complete hydrogeologic investigations in selected areas in western Montana as part of the Groundwater Investigation Program (GWIP). MBMG staff will discuss specific projects, preliminary results and ongoing studies.

As mentioned, the field trip is scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday, October 13. Busses begin loading at 12:30 and will leave at 1pm. Treats and drinks are included in the $20 fee. We anticipate having room for about 95 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Field Trip ...continued from page 1

We’ll break for lunch (on your own) late in the morning. After lunch, two concurrent technical sessions will begin and run all afternoon. The poster session and social will be from 5 to 7 pm. As usual, we will provide a great selection of locally brewed beers on tap. The last conference activities on Thursday will be the banquet with a presentation by Rich Moy, former long-time Water Management Bureau Chief for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Chair of the Flathead Basin Commission. Rich has played a vital role in ongoing negotiations to safeguard the headwaters of the Flathead River in Canada and will speak about his involvement with the Commission.

Friday’s activities will include two technical sessions beginning at 8:20 am. A closing plenary is scheduled to begin late in the morning for announcements, student presentation and poster awards, and introduction of the incoming Montana Section AWRA Treasurer. Nominations can be listed on the conference registration form.

The 2010 Montana AWRA conference is sure to be another great time for all! The Colonial Inn is conveniently located on the east side of Helena, not far from the Capital interchange on I-15. Great food and drink is available on-site and at nearby establishments. For more information, registration and updates, check out the 2010 Montana AWRA conference website at: http://state.awra.org/montana/conference/conference.htm. We expect a great turnout this year in Helena!

Rivers of Change ... continued from page 2

2009 Conference: Waters that Cross Divides Eric Chase, Vice-President

The 26th annual conference of the Montana Section Ameri-can Water Resources Association was held at the Holiday Inn Missoula as a joint conference with the University of Montana Center for Riverine Science. We were fortunate to collaborate with the River Center and Dr. Andrew Wilcox to put on a stellar conference. With over 200 registrants, it was our best turn out ever!

The conference kicked off Wednesday afternoon with a field trip to the Mill Town area just east of Missoula. The group explored the removal of the Mill Town Dam and the ongo-ing remediation. The field trip was organized and led by Dr. Wilcox and associates from Envirocon.

The field trip started out at the Mill Town Dam overlook where the group was brought up to speed on the work completed to date. Throughout the tour, different speakers discussed the latest science and management issues associated with the 2008 removal of Milltown Dam and ongoing remediation and restoration efforts. One of the many highlights was watching a newly constructed channel reconnect to the Clark Fork for the first time. While the breaching of the temporary dam and reconnection of the channel was not as dramatic as many expected, it was exciting to watch nonetheless.

The opening plenary session began with an informative presentation by Dr. Jon Major from the USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory. His talk focused on sediment erosion and transport following removal of Marmot Dam on the Sandy River in Oregon. This was a unique study where two years of baseline sediment and turbidity data were collected before removal of the dam. For more information, please see the Marmot Dam removal site http://or.water.usgs.gov/projs_dir/marmot/index.html.

Nearly 100 participants braved rain and snow to see the Milltown Dam removal and remediation site.

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Dave Donohue, Treasurer

The banquet is always a great time to relax with colleagues, enjoy some great food, and listen to outstanding speakers. This year’s banquet main dish will be BBQ Pork Loin roast in a balsamic glaze. Our vegetarian friends will be served Vegetable Wellington, garden veggies baked in puff pastry and topped with hollandaise sauce. Side dishes for both meals will include roasted baby red potatoes, an in-season vegetable, sweet corn fritters and a green salad. Lava Fudge Cake, a warm chocolate cake with a chocolate center, will be dessert.

Our banquet speaker this year will be Rich Moy, former Bureau Chief of DNRC’s Water Management Bureau. Rich will speak about the successful negotiations with our Canadian neighbors to the north in British Columbia to preserve the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River and what still remains to be done. Following Rich’s talk, the ever popular photo contest will take place. So plan to come and spend the evening with friends while enjoying great food, great talk and great pictures!! Be sure to register for the banquet to experience this event!

A Square Meal and Entertainment Will Round Out Thursday Evening

Folks at the 2009 banquet.

Opening plenary session.

Next up was the esteemed Dr. Steve Running from the University of Montana who spoke to the issue of climate change and declining surface flows in the Northern Rockies. After a very enlightening talk some lively discussion followed that was surely carried into the lunch hour. The early part of the afternoon was broken into two concurrent sessions, one on River Restoration and one relating to Climate. After a short refueling break, folks chose from talks relating to either River and Watershed Processes or Groundwater.

The evening poster session began with kegs of local microbrew, snacks and of course 31 technical posters for participants to peruse at their leisure. The awards for the top student poster went to Seth Kurt-Mason with John Babcock a close second. After ample time to enjoy the posters, it was time for the banquet and our special speaker Dr. Jack Schmidt distinguished professor of fluvial geomorphology from Utah State University.

The 2009 banquet brought back the pig roast. While it was not the traditional late night pig roast, everyone enjoyed the menu of Hawaiian-style roast pig served with mojo sauce. After all who

gathered were satiated, and Dr. Schmidt presented a very engaging talk on the science and politics of restoring bi-national rivers. His talk primarily focused on the Rio Grande and Colorado River systems, but the lessons learned could be translated to any bi-national river system. Following the talk was the ever popular photo contest orchestrated by Kirk Waren.

The final day of the conference began with concurrent session on Aquatic Ecosystems and Watershed Hydrology. After the morning break, the talks wrapped up with concurrent sessions on Water Quality and Quantity, and International and Trans-Basin Water Science. Student presenters competed for a trip to National AWRA in Seattle and cash prizes. The overall winner was Blase Reardon, followed by Adam Sepulveda and Garrett Smith. Due to scheduling conflicts, Blase Reardon was unable to attend National AWRA; however, second place winner Adam Sepulveda was able to make the trip.

A big thank you to all attendees, presenters and especially to Dr. Andrew Wilcox and the River Center for making the 2009 Montana Section American Water Resources Association conference a huge success!

The banquet main course!

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2009 2nd place student presenter winner Adam Sepulveda with Eric Chase

Colleagues interact during the poster social.

A Heartfelt THANK YOU to Our Sponsors!

A Final Word ...Kirk Waren, President

The Montana Water Center, through its USGS grant, provides our conference with amazing support. This year, Montana AWRA continued to support the work and time formerly donated by the Montana Water Center personnel. It is our privilege to contribute to the Water Center during its tight budget-times, for it illuminates the amazing support we have had completely volunteered in the past. Your conference fees also help us bring speakers such as Robert Glennon and Michael Campana to Montana, and support student awards.

So, thank you Gretchen Rupp, Steve Guettermann, MJ Nehasil and Nancy Hystad of the Water Center and also to you, our members and supporters. You have helped us maintain and hopefully improve our service and our mission - to provide a forum for water scientists and professionals to come together and share, and thus, raise the efficacy of the work all of us do.

Gretchen Rupp, Director Montana Water Center

ABOUT HELENA

Cradled in the foothills of the Montana Rockies, surrounded by pristine forests, alive with history and culture, lies Helena, “the heartbeat of Montana.” This charming, sophisticated and beautiful Victorian city is both the capital of the state of Montana and the county seat for Lewis and Clark County.

Helena is a unique blend of the past and the present, whether it’s business suits or blue jeans.The city itself is alive with the community spirit, street festivals, theater, museums, symphonies, fairs and rodeos. It is the hub of education and health care, a city of timeless treasures and sophisticated services.

Our sponsors help reduce MT AWRA conference fees by generously donating cash, staff and office space for the success of this conference. Sponsors help make such things possible as the field trip and student awards. If you see someone wearing a nametag from one of our sponsors, please be sure to thank them!

MONTANA

WATER CENTER

University System