Episode 50: WADE FELLIN & GUY ALSENTZER – Disappearing Wild Trout Populations in Southwest Montana: What the Hell is Going on in Big Sky Country?

In the spring of 2023, Montana’s media started to highlight the fact that wild trout populations in Montana’s Jefferson Basin – an area that includes the world-famous Big Hole, Ruby, Beaverhead and Jefferson Rivers – were in severe distress. Legendary for cold-water fisheries that have historically supported an abundance of wild trout, the rivers in Southwest Montana are currently experiencing what some are calling a population-level collapse. Is it too late to save Southwest Montana’s wild fish numbers and fix are rivers, or is there still hope for the near future when it comes to our fisheries resources? That is the question that needs to be asked and answered. SAVE WILD TROUT is an organization that was launched to address this very crisis: a coalition of anglers, river advocates, concerned citizens, businesses, guides, and outfitters that have come together with the focused mission of protecting wild trout for the benefit of all. In this episode of Waypoints, Jim is joined by two founding members of SAVE WILD TROUT: Guy Alsentzer and Wade Fellin – two individuals who know a thing or two about the rivers of Southwest Montana. Guy is the Executive Director and Founder of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, and Wade is a guide, lodge owner and outfitter on the Big Hole River.

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