The color of Mountain Dew.
Brian Wheeler discovered and photographed significant algae blooms last weekend on the Big Hole, Boulder and Jefferson rivers.
He described these early algae blooms, typically associated with late July and August for streams in the Jefferson River Basin, as indicators of a need for action.
“June is the new July — a troubling and disturbing reality that doesn’t bode well for our coldwater rivers, waterways, aquatic life, wild trout and the businesses and communities that depend on them,” Wheeler said Tuesday in a news release from Save Wild Trout.
An algal bloom on the lower Big Hole River, just above High Road Bridge. The photo was taken June 28. Such blooms are showing up earlier than usual in regional rivers.
Courtesy Brian Wheeler, Save Wild Trout
“The evidence is right in front