A group of 10 Montana residents waded into the murky waters of regulating river use earlier this month as crowding, garbage and environmental impacts to the state’s streams become increasingly concerning.
The deliberations of the River Recreation Advisory Council, which have been posted online for anyone interested in watching the roughly 24 hours of discussions, produced numerous ideas for addressing such concerns. They ranged from designating certain stretches of river specifically for different types of watercraft, for example drift boats vs. innertubes, to closures when fishing access sites are full…