THE LEADING EDGE
What combination of treatment, of stewardship, does it take to transition nutrient impaired fresh water back to health?  What blend of strategies?  How do we interrupt the dysfunctional cycle of chemical treatment to arrive at a sustainable place when it comes to water health?  Is it worth it? These are questions my company is wrestling with.  In fairness, we are not alone...

​Just the other day we launched BioHaven Floating Islands in an early spring snowstorm. The setting was Montana’s Madison Valley, not far from Yellowstone National Park. The source water we were launching on emits from the Madison range, from the ski hills of Big Sky and the back country of Cowboy Heaven.  

​As we worked, trout were bulging, hitting some kind of emerging nymph. Some of the trout created wakes as large as a blanket beaver.  

​Of the nearly 10,000 BioHaven floating islands launched since Floating Island International opened its doors in 2005, a sizable number have been focused on fishery enhancement.  People like myself, who grew up with a fishing pole in their hands, pick up on the idea that nature can be helped.  Nature can be enhanced.  Building an ultimate fishing hole, or supporting a public fishery with good habitat design, has motivated many island launches.  But there’s usually only a vague understanding of just how floating islands help fish grow.  For certain, the other two popular methods to grow fish are better understood.  But are they better for water?

​Yesterday we launched BioHaven Floating Islands in an early spring snowstorm.  The setting was Montana’s Madison Valley, not far from Yellowstone Park.  The source water emits from the Madison range, from the ski hills of Big Sky and the back country of Cowboy Heaven.  

As we worked, large trout, some that created wakes as large as a blanket beaver, swirled nearby targeting some emergent nymph.  Wet knees notwithstanding, we had two more BioHavens in place on the water, prepped to expand and build on nature’s wetland effect, in just an hour and a half.  The wet snow on this early spring day made for cold hands, but not that cold.  The boggy riparian edge of the spring ponds made for wet feet too, but nothing that wouldn’t dry in a short while.

Clear vision through the fog of obfuscation, of fallacy, of misdirected anger, is rare. But it is happening. There is a movement that does not bow to misdirection or misinformation. It simply advances. The movement is called Biomimicry.

Biomimicry is the model for a better future.
The word has become science. It has no political connotations. It just is. You can measure it. Yes. It is factual, and you can live it. Actually, watch it unfold, as you engage it.

Stretching out on a chaise longue, listening to the gentle lap of waves as the sun sets in the west. Idle dreams after a day spent on clear, delicious water. Oh yes, and a fish fry for dinner.

With our good fortune, last night we dined on fillet of Haddock, a wonderful, mild flavored cold water marine fish, and Largemouth Bass derived from Fish Fry Lake, our research pond. We leverage nature’s wetland effect in Fish Fry, and cycle nutrients into healthy fish, instead of algae and cyanobacteria. Three of us had equal portions of both types of fish. The fish fillets had been dusted with chestnut flour and toasted onion powder and sautéed in olive oil. They passed muster even by my partner Anne’s discerning palate.