For anglers, many of the river systems in Montana feel wild and scenic. Now, U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke is looking to make that designation official. At a press conference Tuesday in Bozeman, Zinke announced his Greater Yellowstone Recreation Enhancement and Tourism Act. The bill includes the designation of hundreds of miles of the Gallatin and Madison rivers, and some tributaries, in the National and Wild Scenic Rivers System. Currently, only 408 miles of Montana's nearly 170,000 mile river system has been designated as "Wild and Scenic," which preserves free-flowing rivers by maintaining water quality, preventing dams or channeling, and protecting unique qualities.
"This is an example of bipartisanship. You know, certainly our public lands, you look where America stands and it's firmly with we don't wanna sell them. And we also want to make sure we preserve and protect the system's and the health of the systems, and the rivers and their legacy as a part of that," said Zinke.
Josh Stanish has spent more than 30 years connected to local rivers. For the last two decades, he has worked as a guide at Trout Chasers, a local lodge offering fly-fishing adventures along the upper Gallatin River.
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"The rivers are an important place that brings a lot of people together," he said. When he’s not casting a line, Stanish is teaching students at Hyalite Elementary. "I teach them about the importance of our state and the environment and everything we have here," he said.
For Montanans, fishing is more than recreation. It is also a significant economic driver. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, fishing activities generate more than $900 million in economic impact each year. "The fishing industry is a huge part of what goes on in Montana. Outdoors and tourism is definitely Montana’s bread and butter," Stanish said.
That is part of why Zinke’s new proposal caught his attention. "Having some protections I think is important," Stanish said. "Our environment is definitely changing as our climate is changing. So, we are going to have to do everything we can." Stanish said any measure that protects Montana’s rivers deserves credit, "It’s important these rivers stay trout fisheries and they stay with clean cold water... If this is one of the ways we can do that, I think the real applause needs to go to a lot of the conservation organizations that work so hard to make sure to get somebody like Mr. Zinke to be a part of this."
Stanish said the demand for Montana’s rivers is already high. "Water usage is already stretched thin," he said, "to be symbiotic for everybody and not just one user group is an important part of the conversation. I think bills like this help to ensure that we can continue to have those conversations that are so difficult sometimes."
At the heart of it all, Stanish said, are the next generation of Montanans. "They can have the things that we’ve had, and it’s not just lost and they end up not being outdoors," he said.
Zinke said the Greater Yellowstone Recreation and Tourism Act has been fully drafted and will be presented before the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
