A jeep trail once ran for miles alongside the Middle Fork of the Judith River, near Lewistown. The road crossed the river frequently, bringing in sediment and eroding banks.
Mike Enk, a former biologist for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest was shocked when he first surveyed the area in the late 1990s.
"I was astounded at how deeply embedded all of the stream bed was in sediment. How every step you took released a cloud of sediment into the water column," he says.
Sediment buildup pushed out aquatic insects, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks found that the trout population had plummeted to just 10% of its original size.
In 2019 local conservation groups Wild Montana and Trout Unlimited pooled resources to fund restoration work with the U.S. Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and local landowners.
For four years they worked to prevent further erosion. They rerouted portions of road to reduce crossings, rebuilt river banks and redesigned crossings they couldn't reroute. Chris Edgington, with Trout Unlimited, says he can already see a difference.
"When we went in in September to begin this work, you could see the color of the cobble that I'd never seen before. The river is already trying to heal itself."
At a time when many cold-water trout fisheries are imperiled, Zach Angstead, with Wild Montana says restoring the Middle Fork Judith watershed is crucial.
"Especially in that part of the state, there's not a lot of cold streams that provide that kind of great cutthroat trout habitat. And the Middle Fork Judith, is one of those historically," says Angstead.
Chris Edgington with Trout Unlimited says the river crossings were the biggest threat facing the trout in this system, so he expects fish to recover quickly.
"Fish spawn every year. So if we had a more successful spawn this year, those fish are spawning in three years. I think in five years you're going to see a pretty healthy fishery," Edgington says.
Enk retired over a decade ago, but he still frequents the area and says he can talk about it now with pride instead of chagrin.
"The adjective I would use has always been the 'long suffering' Middle Fork Judith. I don't have to use that word anymore. I can say the recovery or the healing Middle Fork Judith River, which is just a lot nicer to be able to say that."
