In the latest twist in the saga of Mitchell Slough, several Bitterroot Valley landowners have effectively closed the area to duck hunting by installing feeding stations along the waterway.

"I'm feeding ducks all over my place - many of us neighbors are," said Huey Lewis, rock musician and ranch owner along the Mitchell. "The reason is, the (Montana) Supreme Court decision has changed everything here, and now we have public access. And most of us believe the Mitchell is unsuitable for duck hunting."

Nevertheless, the move came as a surprise to Missoula duck hunter Ron Pence, who was wading up the slough between Victor and Stevensville on Tuesday and saw Lewis' feeders.

"It's attracted every duck in the area," Pence said. "Legally, if I know where a bait pile is, I can't hunt around there or I'll get cited. Now you'd have to do an aerial survey before you can ever hunt around there again."

Lewis started placing the feeders along the slough about two months ago. Mitchell Slough has had bait stations for quail and pheasants for several years.

It is legal to feed game birds and waterfowl. It is also legal to boat or wade below a stream's high-water mark, even if it passes through private property. But it is not legal to hunt waterfowl in an area where they are artificially fed.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl regulations look at waterfowl baiting from a bird's point of view. Placing feeders in one area can influence ducks elsewhere to fly in. So feeders on one property can affect hunting potential on another.

"How close to bait can you hunt without breaking the law?" a USFWS Web site asks. "There is no set distance. The law prohibits hunting if bait is present that could lure or attract birds to, on or over areas where hunters are attempting to take them. Distance will vary depending on the circumstances and such factors as topography, weather and waterfowl flight patterns. Therefore, this question can only be answered on a case-by-case basis."

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Mitchell Slough rancher Ed Hebner added another restriction: the need for landowner permission to get out of the slough.

"How are they going to retrieve ducks they shoot?" Hebner asked. "There's not a landowner along the Mitchell that will allow any duck hunter to retrieve a duck on his property."

Lewis, Hebner and other ranchers along the 15-mile tributary of the Bitterroot River lost their legal argument that the slough was a manmade feature and not subject to the state's public access laws. Since the Supreme Court decision came down last November, the ranchers have been working with FWP officials on a plan that would allow boaters and waders to use the slough without interfering with private property rights.

In addition to Lewis, investor Charles Schwab and wealthy rancher Ken Seibel have property along the slough.

"We've been aware of it pretty much since he did it," state Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden captain Jeff Darrah said of Lewis' feeders. "Federal law says you can't hunt a field that's been baited. That's his way of saying you can't hunt here."

Lewis listed several other reasons, besides the privacy concern, to block hunters from the slough. He said the narrow waterway is too close to homes for safe hunting. And wading hunters will hurt the slough's struggling fish population.

"The water's super low in the winter," Lewis said. "A lot of the landowners decided their privacy is more important than fish, so they're not taking their winter water (irrigation allotments). And that's bad for the fish. What few trout are in there are trying to spawn. When you have hunters wading through there, that is super destructive for the redds."

FWP officials are meeting with the landowners and public access advocates to work out rules for passing through the slough. The waterfowl hunting question hadn't come up before now, FWP's Darrah said.

"We're going to take a look at waterfowl hunting on Mitchell Slough," he said. "There may be places where it's not appropriate. But some areas may be appropriate. We're not willing to say it's closed yet."

Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.