Paddlefishing The Confluence

Williston - The Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston will celebrate the opening of the paddlefish season (May 1) at the Confluence with special opportunities for anglers and others.

The special celebration will include two presentations by Fred Ryckman, the Northwest District Fisheries Supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.  Ryckman will deliver his presentations at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Central Time and will discuss numerous aspects related to the paddlefish.  This discussion will be interesting to all and helpful for the anglers.  These presentations will be delivered in the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center.

Additionally, the Confluence Center will offer for sale a limited number of one-of-a-kind hats and long-sleeve t-shirts that celebrate paddlefishing at the Confluence.  Confluence Center staff will also distribute a free paddlefish cookbook to visitors (while supplies last).

All of the events are free and open to the public.  Free refreshments, including hot coffee, will be served all day Saturday, May 2 in the Confluence Center.

Located one-half mile east of Fort Buford, the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center tells the story of the confluence of these two mighty rivers, as well as provides the same magnificent view that Lewis and Clark Expedition members enjoyed when they visited in 1805 and 1806. One of the facility’s unique features is a large replica of a compass that the explorers carried on their 1803-06 expedition. Located in the center of the facility’s rotunda, it measures eight feet in diameter and faces true north, just as Lewis and Clark would have looked north when they were at the same site 200 years ago. The rotunda area includes three large murals featuring quotes from the Lewis and Clark Journals, and paintings of the Missouri River landscape by Colonel Philippe Régis de Trobriand, commanding officer of Fort Stevenson near present-day Garrison, N.D. in the late 1860s.

The Confluence Center is open year-round. Its winter hours are now in effect, and are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission to the Center’s exhibits is $5 per adult, $2.50 per child, ages 6-15, and children 5 and under are admitted free.

Free admission to all sites administered by the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) is one of the many benefits for members of the SHSND Foundation. Others include a 15 percent discount on museum store purchases, and the quarterly publications North Dakota History and Plains Talk. To become a member, call the Foundation at (701) 222-1966 or visit the website at www.statehistoricalfoundation.com.

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009

Location: Confluence