6 teachers attended this 5 day tour from Gibson Reservoir to Fort Shaw.
| We met at the forest service headquarters in Augusta.
After learning the definition of a watershed and reviewing maps about
the Sun, we heard from Alan Rollo, the coordinator of the Sun and
Teton Watershed groups. He told us why the group started and what
issues they were trying to address. |
Alan joined us in driving to the Gibson dam and reservoir where
we met Bob Hardin of the Greenfield Irrigation district and Lee Carlbaum,
the dam manager. They told us that the Sun River project holds irrigation
water for the Greenfield and Fort Shaw irrigation districts. The water,
as it is released from Gibson, goes to fill Willow Creek dam, Pishkun
reservoir, Sun River diversion dam, Fort Shaw diversion dam, 2 supply
canals and six irrigation canals - wow!
Teachers on Gibson dam |
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We were there on the day before the 40th anniversary of the 1964
flood which crested the dam in a way no one expected. Bob Hardin pointed
out the maximum water height. It may not look high to you but remember,
we're standing on top of the dam!
Here's the view looking down...
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We followed the water downstream and saw the Sun diversion dam.
The dam creates head pressure that lets water divert into the Pishkun
supply canal. "But wait", we said."If the water diverts
to the south side of the river here, and Pishkun reservoir is on the
north side of the river, you have to get the water to cross the river!"
How do you do that? A siphon! |
Water flows "uphill" from the Pishkun siphon. |
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| On day 2 we had the pleasure of visiting the Broken O ranch where
ranch manager, Dan Freeman told us a lot about the history and current
working operations of the ranch. Like many ranches, the Broken O has
it's share of water problems and wildlife conflicts as well as successes
and partnerships. |
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| Quentin Kuljala of Fish, Wildlife and Parks met with us later to
talk more about wildlife in the valley. We talked about the effect
of irrigation on Freezeout Lake. The lake would not have been permanent
without the irrigation returns from the Greenfields irrigation district.
The canals also provide habitat for wildlife that didn't exist before
irrigation but has now existed for 80-100 years. |
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| On day 3, Kate Miller of the Bureau of Mines and Geology
met with us to discuss the groundwater mechanics of the Fairfield
bench and why it sometimes runs out of water in the early spring.
She also shared with us a history of the unique geology of the Sun
River canyon and how the Marias River Shale deposits affect groundwater
quality in the Fairfield area. We learned about the water table on
the bench, the influence of irrigation diversions and the interaction
of surface activities with the groundwater. Since the water table
is so high, pesticides and surface applied fertilizers have the potential
to get into the groundwater. The groundwater also moves significantly
more rapidly here than in other places. |
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| Rai Hahn and student members of the Sun River Science
club also met with us to discuss their projects and show us their
water monitoring and sampling sites. We had a fine afternoon at the
Ft. Shaw bridge. |
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On day 4, Mr. Warren Harding showed us around the valley telling
us stories of the flood of 1964. We also learned about Ft. Shaw soldiers
first diverting water to irrigate their vegetable gardens to supplement
their rations.
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| Then we traveled to Ulm Pishkun to learn about Native American history
and pre-history in the valley. Fish, Wildlife and Parks extended the
invitation for teachers to come use the park and interpretive center
with their classes. |
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| On the last day, Craig Madsen came to talk to us about economics,
business and outfitting in the watershed. Water use and land use affect
his business too, he said. We also met as a group in Fairfield to
connect concepts on watersheds, ranching and wildlife management,
wetlands, ground water, water quality and history that we learned
on the tour into useable activities and ideas for teachers' classrooms.
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