Trout Unlimited Chapters host Yellowstone River Clean-Up

Joe Brooks Trout Unlimited, based in Livingston, is the oldest active local TU chapter in the state of Montana. Formed in 1968, they currently have 197 members and a 10 member Board of Directors dedicated to conserve, protect and restore the Yellowstone River and its tributaries. JBTU has received both state and national attention for their work on behalf of the Yellowstone River and one of the most successful annual events they host is the one day clean-up of the river.

The river clean up emerged after a group of local fishing guides and conservationists realized that the pristine Yellowstone River that they called home was no longer so pristine in some places. Spring flooding, recreational users, illegal dumping and legacy businesses along the banks of the fabled river had taken their toll over the years. As members of both Joe Brooks Trout Unlimited and the local Livingston community, these guides and conservationists knew the integral part that the Yellowstone played in not only the local environment but also the local economy. 

2010 marks the 6^th year of the Yellowstone River Clean Up and it was the best year of the event to date in terms of volunteer turnout and pounds of garbage, metal and rubber collected from the river channel. This past Saturday, April 10^th, Joe Brooks Chapter, along with the Madison-Gallatin Chapter from Bozeman who co-hosted the event, had the support of 152 volunteers including 30 students from the Livingston school system that walked the banks of the Yellowstone and Fleshman Creek.  In addition, there were 34 boats in the water to help carry collected garbage. The volunteers pulled 12,460 pounds of trash from the water course throughout the day. Volunteers stretched from the Carbella public boat access, a few miles north of Yellowstone National Park, all the way to Grey Bear near Big Timber, covering 75 miles of river.  Properties along and around the Yellowstone benefit from this event as well, keeping the river channel free of debris adds recreational value to many properties with Yellowstone River frontage.

Joe Brooks chapter also works cooperatively with the Madison-Gallatin Chapter on their hosted clean-up of the lower Madison River. The lower Madison becomes a popular destination for recreational float traffic in the months of July and August when both air and water temperatures rise. The Madison, unfortunately, is also the site of illegal dumping and both of these chapters have combined forces to help keep all of the area rivers healthy and productive.