Musselshell Watershed Coalition Meeting

Minutes April 13, 2021

Virtual Meeting by GoToMeeting

Present: Bill Milton, Facilitator; Laura Nowlin, Musselshell Watershed Coalition Coordinator; Wendy Beye, MWC Scribe; Leon Hammond, Deadman’s Basin Water Users Association; Diane Ahlgren, Mosby Musselshell Watershed Group; Wendy Jones, Lower Musselshell Conservation District Administrator; Carie Hess, Petroleum County Conservation District Administrator; Dusty Olson, Garfield County Conservation District Administrator; Kelsey Miller, Wheatland County Weed Dept. Director; Scott Edwards, Big Sky Watershed Corps Joliet; Mike Turley, Musselshell County Commissioner; Eric Sproles, MSU Professer; Kevin Hyde, MT Mesonet Project; Autumn Coleman, DNRC Resource Development; Mike Ruggles, MT Fish Wildlife and Parks; Donald Sasse, MT Bureau of Mines and Geology; Nikki Rife, NRCS Roundup Field Office; Krist Walstad, NRCS Joliet Field Office; Devin Roloff, NRCS Harlowton Field Office; Brandon Bigelbach, NWS Glasgow; Ted Jamba, NWS Glasgow; Arin Peters, NWS Great Falls; Tory Kolkhorst, Senator Daines Office; Autumn Christenson, Healthy Watershed Consortium; Tera Ryan, MT Salinity Control Assoc; Marcus Strange, MT Wildlife Federation; Roy O’Conner, Rancher

Facilitator Bill Milton called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. The roll call introductions included information on drought conditions.

Musselshell Watershed Coalition Coordinator Report:

Laura Nowlin summarized MWC recent activities, which included finalizing the strategic plan for the Musselshell Watershed Coalition; the Army Corps of Engineers will begin a channel migration mapping project on the Musselshell this year; MWC is working with MT FWP, County Road Departments and MT Department of Transportation on long-range planning for the Musselshell River in order to identify and fix issues before they become emergencies that threaten infrastructure.

NWS Presentation on Drought and Precipitation:

Arin Peters from the Great Falls Weather Service office encouraged submissions to the Drought Monitor Reporter, available online at Montana Drought Impact Reporter

Arin said that low-level snow is nonexistent as of now, with none showing as of January 1, 2021. Northeastern Montana has been especially dry. Snowpack at higher elevations is mostly below normal across the state. Precipitation totals as a percentage of normal from October to the present are at 50% in the Musselshell watershed; 10% in northeastern Montana. 90-day precipitation totals are even worse, ranging from 10-50% across the state. 30-day totals are at 10% of normal in central Montana. Montana’s normal lowest precipitation months fall January-March, while April-June are normally the wettest months, so there is hope for better precipitation to come, but snowpack has likely already reached its peak. Temperatures have generally been below normal.

Soil moisture is low over most of the state. Snow water equivalent is at 91% of normal in the Judith Musselshell watersheds, but melting that occurred in March bodes ill for Musselshell streamflow this summer. There is only a 5% probability of flooding anywhere on the Musselshell River. In a normal precipitation year, the probability is 10%.

The Montana Drought Impact Monitor shows conditions to be abnormally dry for the Musselshell watershed; moderate drought to the north, much worse than last year. The drought conditions are likely to persist, with temperatures March-June forecast above normal. We can hope for some big rain events to help with drought conditions.

Arin Peters can be reached at [email protected].

Bill Milton asked whether it has been unusually windy this winter. Arin said he has no statistics for that, but Ted Jamba said generally dry weather means more wind.

Streamflow Predictions

Eric Sproles, Professor of Earth Sciences at MSU Bozeman explained how seasonal streamflow predictions are made.

Hydrological Prediction is a product of measurements of snowpack from air and space; measurements of river ice depth and extent; and evaluation of river conditions through streamflow gages.

Limitations to predictions come from computational deficiencies; gaps in broadband coverage; and lack of staffing expertise.

MSU has in the past tried to predict Musselshell streamflows by using the streamflow gages on the river to build a streamflow model. That didn’t work well for a number of reasons. First, the 2011 flood “broke” the model by being totally unpredictable. Also, streamflow gages on the river only operate during part of the year. Eric said he understands the economic reasons for partial year gages, but if even one or two could be made operational year-around, the data would be more helpful.

Melissa Widas, an undergraduate student at MSU, has been working on a streamflow and water temperature prediction tool based on local citizen input for the upper Yellowstone River. She should have a similar tool for the Musselshell River available by this fall.

River ice can be measured by UAV and satellite imagery. Knowing how much ice is present on a river is important because when it lets loose, jams, and then breaks free, flooding occurs downriver. This frequently happens at Glendive, the only town in the United States to have been bombed from the air. An Air Force bomber dropped bombs on an ice jam just upstream from town in an attempt to relieve flooding. During spring break-up period, people who live near rivers should stay in touch with county, state, and federal officials who monitor flooding. Streamflow experts are considering several questions about river ice. Does ice extent always correlate with ice volume? Does ice volume always correlate with flooding? Models are being developed to allow forecasts based on the extent and volume of river ice as well as precipitation predictions.

Satellite photos of ice on rivers are only useful on clear days because clouds hide the rivers. Satellite radar works even on cloudy days, however, so is much more useful. Drones flown along rivers can capture localized ice formations.

The NASA Snowex project measures snowpack from space. There is a grid of sensors on the ground north of Harlowton in Judith Gap that communicate with a satellite. A Montana Mesonet station will be placed in the area soon. On-the-ground snow measurements were made once a week to confirm satellite data. An airplane with LIDAR equipment also flew over the area to see how those data correlated to on- the-ground and satellite data. It’s difficult to determine snow water content when there is drifting and wind scouring across terrain, as well as differences in ground cover.

Kevin Hyde said he is looking forward to working with Eric. The Army Corps of Engineers is funding installation of 225 larger weather stations in Montana. We need to plan for 5-6 in the Musselshell watershed. The stations need landowner sponsors who are willing to provide access. There is no cost to the landowner to have a station on his/her property. The sites need to be about 25 miles apart, and on ground that is representative of area conditions. The timeline for installation is 2023, and we need to start right now identifying sites and getting landowners on board. Kevin will ask the Corps for a grid map of where stations should be placed, then send it to Laura Nowlin so landowners can be identified and contacted.

Field Reports:

•Laura Nowlin reported for Upper Musselshell Water Users Association that Martinsdale Reservoir is at 16,922 acre/ft, or 72% full. Bair is at 4,657 acre/ft, or 64% full.

•Leon Hammond reported that Deadman’s reservoir is at 63,060 acre/ft, or 87% full. The supply canal is now carrying 70cfs. A measuring device at Winnecook Ranch was damaged, and has now been removed. Some canal repairs have been made over the winter, including liner repair. The survey of Barber Canal is complete. Riprap on the dam and dike at Deadman’s Reservoir has been repaired. There is no word yet on 2021 RRGL grant awards. Weed control and riprap grants have been applied for. A 10-year maintenance plan for Deadman’s Basin Water User Association infrastructure has been submitted to the Upper Musselshell Conservation District. Leon suspects that use of stored water will be greater this season than it was last season, which had excellent streamflow on the Musselshell.

Agency/ Partner Reports:

•Krist Walsted and Scott Edwards from Joliet said they are interested in starting up a watershed coalition for the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone. Wendy Beye suggested that they read the water history for the Musselshell watershed that she wrote about 6 years ago. She said she would send the document to Scott. Diane Ahlgren suggested that Scott and Krist find another Bill Milton and Laura Nowlin team to help them get started.

•Lower Musselshell Conservation District -- Administrator Wendy Jones reported that LMCD is busy renting out the no-till drill, and distributing the 600 trees that will be arriving at the end of the month. Wildland fire fuel mitigation projects are ongoing, and there will be a meeting on Bobcat Fire rehabilitation and potential spring flooding south of Roundup.

•Petroleum County Conservation District -- Carie Hess reported that the PCCD continues to work with the Delphia-Melstone Canal Water Users Association on a regulating pond on the South Canal. The PCCD has sponsored an RRGL grant for the Petrolia Irrigation District (PID) and is assisting the PID in finding funding for repairs to that system.

•MWC Scribe/Publicist -- Wendy Beye had nothing to report.

•Garfield County Conservation District -- Dusty Olson reported that her no-till drill is being kept busy this spring. Trees ordered are also arriving this month. Fuel mitigation projects continue. AIS boat inspectors have been trained, and the check stations will open soon. Dusty stenciled “Clean Drain Dry” on many boat ramps around the Ft. Peck Reservoir.

•Upper Musselshell Conservation District and NRCS -- Devon Roloff, NRCS, reported for Cheryl Miller saying the CD office has been working on 310 permits. The no-till drill is busy. The CD is asking for grant money to protect a mile of the river from grazing by piping water to

livestock. He’s seeing more saline seep this year than in the past.

•Musselshell County -- Commissioner Mike Turley is working with landowners near the Roundup river crossing fishing access site to address their concerns. He is wondering what the river might do this year.

•Wheatland County Weed Dept -- Kelsey Miller said the county received just half of the Weed Trust Fund grant they asked for, or $55,000, that can be used to cost share with landowners. The CD has been meeting with the Harlowton City Council on plans for the reclaimed Brownfield area along the river.

•NRCS -- Ethan McJames has been ranking applications for NRCS conservation projects. The deadline for 2022 projects is November 17, 2021. The next project in the Musselshell watershed is fencing of riparian areas. Long-range, he’s working on a TIP for 2024-2027

•Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks -- Mike Ruggles said 400 feet of road on the west side of a fishing access loop has been replaced.