The Madison River recorded very low flows early Tuesday, Nov. 30, due to a broken gate on Hebgen Dam that controls water flow. Few, if anybody, noticed the problem until sunup.
It used to be that Labor Day marked the end of “the season” in Montana, until ski season began after Thanksgiving. The months in between, when business and restaurants shutter and their owners can catch a breath (and if lucky, head to Mexico), are often called the “shoulder seasons” also known in the springtime as “mud season.”
On a bright, cold day on Norris Hill near Ennis, Mont., with an unusually calm breeze on the day before Thanksgiving, a young driver was remembered by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office with Deputy Doug Young offering somber and haunting words to the effect: “…A young lady unknown to us, was taken from this world way too soon… July 27, 2018…”
The Hebgen Dam release gate is open and outflows to the Madison River were restored just before midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Follow-up work is still required, but water in the river has reached normal levels.
A full fishing closure that was implemented in the upper Madison River will be lifted on Friday now that a gate at Hebgen Dam has been repaired and river flows are returning to normal.
A full fishing closure is in effect for the upper Madison River from Ennis Lake upstream to Hebgen Dam.
A malfunction at Hebgen Dam caused flows on the Madison River to drop Tuesday, stranding fish on riffles and concentrating fish in deep water. NorthWestern Energy is working to fix the dam.
Water flow from Hebgen Dam to the Madison River significantly decreased Nov. 30 when a gate component failed on the dam’s outlet structure, decreasing the opening for the outtake of water at the bottom of the gate.
The Ennis Town Commission held a regular meeting on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. One meeting attendee who did not identify themselves offered public comment, asking Commissioner Lisa Roberts where the money taken from the public works budget to pay for lawyer fees would be paid back from.
The Ennis Town Commission held a regular meeting on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. One meeting attendee who did not identify themselves offered public comment, asking Commissioner Lisa Roberts where the money taken from the public works budget to pay for lawyer fees would be paid back from.
Following advice given by a District 3 hiring panel, Madison County Commissioners Dan Allhands and Ron Nye have chosen John Heckler to take over where recently retired Commissioner Jim Hart left off.
65 N. MT Hwy 287
Ennis, MT 59729
406-682-7755
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