A Big Hole River Arctic grayling working group (dubbed the Hub and Spoke) invites the public to attend new monthly meetings on the progress of the Arctic grayling Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) program in the Big Hole Valley. The working group is made up of state and federal agency representatives, non-governmental organizations, and landowners. The first of the monthly informational meetings will be on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Wisdom Community Center. Meetings will subsequently occur on the first Thursday of every month beginning at 6 p.m. and alternate locations between the Wisdom Community Center and the Jackson Schoolhouse. The CCAA is a program established in 2005 in which private landowners sign voluntary agreements that implement proactive land and water conservation measures to protect Arctic grayling. Under the program, the agencies develop site-specific plans with individual landowners incorporating conservation measures to improve streamflows, restore riparian areas, enhance grayling habitat and fish passage, and reduce the number of grayling in irrigation ditches. All landowners—both enrollees to the program as well as those who are not enrolled—are welcome and encouraged to attend. In addition to private landowners, the Hub and Spoke working group includes representatives from the Big Hole Watershed Committee, Big Hole River Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Montana Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. For more information contact Peter Lamothe at FWP at 406-683-2287 or Noorjahan Parwana at the Big Hole Watershed Committee at 406-782-3682.
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