Fish & Wildlife - Region 2

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

Project will benefit wildlife and prepare for native fish restoration 

ANACONDA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff in southwest Montana recently completed habitat restoration work on a mile-long stretch of French Creek in the Mt. Haggin Wildlife Management Area.  

This riparian work is part of a larger project that aims to enhance terrestrial and aquatic habitat in the French Creek watershed in preparation for restoring westslope cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling populations in the coming years.  

In that effort, biologists identified a section of French Creek with steep, eroded banks on the stream’s western edge that prevented riparian expansion on that side. Non-native grasses surrounded these banks, leading to frequent erosion and higher sediment loads in the stream. 

FWP contracted with a local excavator to decrease the grade in 21 sections of the stream bank and restore flows to several previously inactive side channels of French Creek. This work will widen the floodplain and allow the riparian area to expand naturally. Sod mats and more than 300 mature willows were also planted to re-establish native vegetation, minimize further erosion and reduce sediment load downstream. 

Biologists expect to see several long-term benefits from these enhancements, including a more resilient riparian area and improved spawning conditions for cutthroat trout and grayling because of reduced sediment. Terrestrial wildlife, such as beaver and moose, will also benefit from this habitat work as they depend on robust riparian ecosystems. 

FWP will monitor conditions here in the coming months and plant several thousand young willows in the spring to further boost riparian vegetation recovery. 

This phase of the project was funded by FWP’s Future Fisheries Improvement Program, income generated through a Giant Springs water lease with MaltEurop, and the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited.