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Musselshell Watershed Coalition Meeting Minutes

August 10, 2021

In-Person Meeting, Musselshell County Extension Office

Present: Bill Milton, Facilitator; Laura Nowlin, Musselshell Watershed Coalition Coordinator; Wendy Beye, MWC Scribe; Wendy Jones, Lower Musselshell Conservation District Administrator; Shirley Parrott, Lower Musselshell Conservation District Supervisor; Carie Hess, Petroleum County Conservation District Administrator; Diane Ahlgren, Petroleum County Conservation District Supervisor; Shane Moe, Upper Musselshell Water Users Assoc.; Bill Bergin, Jr., Deadman’s Basin Water Users Assoc.; Lynn Rettig, Delphia/Melstone Canal Water Users Assoc.; Mike Goffena, Musselshell County Commissioner; Jenn Solf, Musselshell/Golden Valley County Extension Agent; Scott Graham, MT Dept of Environmental Quality; Jason Seyler, MT Dept of Environmental Quality; Mike Ockey, MT Dept of Environmental Quality; Shannon Blackburn, MT Dept Fish Wildlife and Parks; Nikki Rife, NRCS Roundup Field Office; Devin Roloff, NRCS Harlowton Field Office; Mike Lucas, NRCS Winnett Field Office; Kalten Hendrickson, NRCS Harlowton Field Office; Karin Boyd, Applied Geomorphology Inc.; Tony Thatcher, DTM Consulting

Facilitator Bill Milton called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. asking for comments on Montana’s drought conditions. Suggestions were made to have a statewide hay clearinghouse for producers who are in need of livestock feed; assistance in finding new water sources for livestock; weed control; address the mental health needs of livestock producers in this stressful time.

Musselshell Watershed Coalition Coordinator Report:

Laura Nowlin handed out a long list of the previous year’s MWC projects, programs, activities, and accomplishments. She mentioned that precipitation to date in 2021 north of Winnett is only 27% of average.

Field Reports:

• Shane Moe said water is critical for Upper Musselshell Water Users Association members, with reservoirs nearly empty and the North Fork of the Musselshell dry.

• Bill Bergin, Jr. reported for Deadman’s that the reservoir is down to 35,000 Acre/feet with about another 10% available for release. Contract water is so far keeping the Musselshell River channel wet, but that may not be the case if we don’t get rain soon.

• Lynn Rettig reported that Delphia/Melstone Water Users were out of water by July 14, with only 10.5 days of decreed water available early in the season. All contract water has been used, with very little waste this year. A grant sponsored by LMCD will pay for telemetry on water gauging stations so that conditions can be monitored remotely. DNRC provided grant money for remote gate controls. Negotiations are still ongoing to transfer a water right from the Mosby Musselshell Watershed Group to Delphia/Melstone Water Users for a holding reservoir to capture water that bypasses decreed water users for use later in the irrigation season. Lynn will be retiring at the end of the irrigation season this year, after 13 years’ service as manager, and many years’ service as a ditch rider before that. Lynn and other water users complimented the water commissioners for doing the best job possible this year to distribute scarce water resources. Priority dates for decreed water were changing every day. At the end of June, there was a stretch of dry river channel that remained for 5 days.

• Diane Ahlgren reported that the river north of Mosby has stayed “live,” and most people got all the water they were expecting. The hay crop was only a quarter to a half of the usual yield, with a second cutting slightly better. Grasshoppers are bad again this year.

Agency/ Partner Reports:

• Lower Musselshell Conservation District -- Administrator Wendy Jones reported that LMCD will sponsor a fuel mitigation meeting tonight in Roundup. The office is working on strengthening the “neighbor network” for livestock care available in case of wildland fire, with hay resources for emergencies. There will be a fuel mitigation tour in October in the Bull Mountains. There were 11 new fuel mitigation contracts in place this year, and all 2019 contracts have been completed with 48 acres mitigated at $50,000 cost share. There will be a weed workshop in September. Staff is working on a 310 permit video starring Joe Stahl at Kilby Butte as he works on a permitted project. LMCD has been doing outreach at the Roundup Farmers Market and conducting CEMIST education on invasive mussels around the region. CEMIST is recruiting a Big Sky Watershed Corps members for 2022.

• Petroleum County Conservation District -- Carie Hess reported that PCCD had a very successful Ladies’ Day on the Range and a soil workshop the next day for anyone who was interested. PCCD obtained a planning grant to help Delphia/Melstone Water Users Assoc with planning for a potential small holding reservoir. This project would replace the proposed Horse Coulee reservoir project that has now been abandoned. Petrolia irrigation district received a grant to repair a headgate, and now needs additional funding for a second headgate that failed. Forty trees were planted at the Winnett rodeo grounds and have so far survived. The WaterSmart grant is coming to an end this year. Carie is retiring at the end of August, and the position has been advertised. The PCCD 4-year plan has been finalized and approved, which will help guide the new Administrator.

• MWC Scribe/Publicist -- Wendy Beye wrote an article on MWC activities, and it was published in two local newspapers and discussed on the Roundup radio station. We do a lot for our communities!

• Musselshell County -- Commissioner Mike Goffena said Musselshell County will be taking the lead with a public Health Board, as the Central Montana Health Board has been dissolved.

• NRCS -- Nikki Rife said the Roundup NRCS office is working on all its usual conservation programs. Focused conservation in the TIP includes fuel mitigation projects, livestock and irrigation water issues, sage grouse initiative. Musselshell County has benefitted to the tune of $2 million this year for EQIP projects. ECP funding will help pay for replacing fencing that has been burned by wildfires and for grass seeding in burned areas. Some drought emergency programs will be implemented this fall. On August 18 there will be a teleconference with representatives from the Farmers Conservation Alliance, an organization that provides funding for large conservation projects. Mike Lucas said the Winnett office has been busy with fuel mitigation, sage grouse initiative, and ECP applications for emergency water projects for livestock. 4-5,000 acres of former cropland have been reseeded to native grasses over the last few years in Petroleum County, though it’s too dry to do any planting now. Re-seeding contracts can perhaps bee extended due to the drought conditions. Devon Roloff said the Harlowton office is working on an expiring TIP for CRP to help with grazing infrastructure (water sources, fencing).

• Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks -- Shannon Blackburn said that FWP is waiting for grant spending authority for the Roundup Fishing Access site, which is slowly moving forward.

• Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation -- Laura Nowlin reported that there will be a DNRC Flood Awareness Day September 9 in Roundup. This year is the 10-year anniversary of the Big Flood. DNRC is working with Mayor Jones on the event.

• Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality -- Jason Seyler said the Harlowton Roundhouse cleanup project hit a snag. Pockets of asbestos contamination were discovered, and are now being removed, wrapped, and transported to Great Falls for disposal. Another $500,000 of excavation of petroleum products will be completed this fall, with another $500,000 scheduled for 2022. The federal EPA is working with the community to decide on a public use of the roundhouse once the cleanup project has been completed.

A $20,000 EPA planning grant is available for the Roundup Bair/Collins Mine property, but needs a $20,000 match. There may be an RRGL grant available for the 30-acre recreational parcel. Scott Graham mentioned that a concrete pad is still in place that could be used for parking. There are many recreational possibilities on the table. Scott is working with a landowner on the opposite side of the river who has a hayfield collapsing into an old mine shaft. Some kind of bank armoring may be necessary, and Karin Boyd will help determine what will work best without impacting the floodplain on the Roundup side of the river. Karin will also help DEQ with modeling for floodplain expansion and access in the #4 Road area near the City sewage facility. Mark Ockey said he has no new information on the proposed TMDL plan for the Musselshell River. If a watershed restoration plan could be drafted for EPA approval, then 319 funds could be used to implement it. It could include TMDL goals, wildlife habitat, water quantity and quality, and fisheries. DEQ can help with writing the plan based on what MWC already has written into its long-range plan.

Long-range Watershed Plan

After a short break, some attendees remained to work on project planning to meet MWC’s longrange goals.

Next Meeting:

The next MWC meeting will be Tuesday, October 12, noon, at a place to be decided.