Recent reporting emerging from Montana Public Broadcasting and other outlets has raised alarm bells for those concerned about PFAS contamination in both waterways and fish throughout the state. Montana PBS also raised evidence that officials within Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks (FWP) suppressed a report about PFAS contamination since 2024, even though it showed conclusive evidence of those chemicals in fish throughout some of the state’s most popular fisheries.
What Are PFAS Chemicals?
PFAS chemicals are “forever chemicals” that continually persist in the environment. These chemicals are usually water, grease, and stain resistant, so they’ve become extremely popular in both firefighting applications, as well as recreational equipment like waders and wading jackets.
Columbia River Keeper, a conservation group, defines PFAS thusly:
“Often called ‘forever chemicals, these chemicals do not break down in the environment, and the PFAS produced in the 1940s are still in the environment today. They are incredibly pervasive and are found nearly everywhere. They are bioaccumulative, meaning they build up in the bodies of living organisms, causing harm to both human and ecosystem health. In fact, PFAS are so pervasive that research suggests PFAS are likely in the blood of nearly all Americans. We’re still uncovering the impacts of PFAS to human health but high levels of exposure can harm hormone, immune, and cardiovascular systems; cause reproductive and developmental issues; as well as increase the risk of cancer.”
Report Withheld
The report from FWP was deliberately withheld from the public until the Montana PBS documentary was about to be released. Josh Bergan reports that “Despite testing conducted in 2023 by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, neither the full report nor clear consumption guidance was made available to the public until just hours before the PBS investigation aired, apparently as the agencies’ hands were forced.”
This has caused backlash against the department in charge of monitoring, preserving, and managing the fisheries throughout Montana, a state whose identity is tied in large part to fly fishing.
Impact On Fish
PFAS chemicals have persisted in the environment since their invention and use in the 1940s. However, this report from FWP was the first to look at how those chemicals have impacted fish throughout the state.
“That had never been looked at in fish before in Montana,” FWP Pollution Biologist Trevor Selch told KTVH in Helena. “DEQ had done monitoring across the state in the water. And so we used the results they had from that water sampling to kind of follow up with fish testing to see if the fish were safe to eat.”
What they found was high contamination levels of PFAS in fish throughout the Missouri River, Whitmore Ravine, Lake Helena, Prickly Pear Creek, East Gallatin River, Yellowstone River, Fort Peck Reservoir, Nelson Reservoir, Clark Fork River, Flathead Lake, and Flathead River.
The PFAS levels were high enough to cause FWP to issue consumption advisories, telling people to only eat as little as one meal a week of contaminated fish, and to avoid fish over certain sizes entirely.
The fish with elevated PFAS levels were smallmouth bass, pike, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, walleye, lake trout, crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, perch, and whitefish.
The Bottom Line
Montana’s fish do have significant PFAS levels, enough to warrant a consumption advisory. What’s most concerning to people in the fly fishing world is FWP sitting on the findings until the PBS documentary forced their hand to release it. That lack of transparency, from a historically respected agency, is alarming.
You can watch the full documentary here to learn more about the PFAS problem in Montana.