Montana Fish and Wildlife commissioners recently approved 19 projects aimed at restoring and improving wild fish habitat around the state.
The program aims to help rebuild critical aquatic habitats and protect sensitive fish species.
Arctic grayling, bull trout and mountain whitefish are just a handful of species that stand to benefit from the efforts.
The projects are part of the state’s Future Fisheries Improvement Program which provides funding and assistance to groups working to improve aquatic habitat.
Project Coordinator Michelle McGree says, “These habitat projects are important to support the fisheries not only recreationally, but also economically with people that are visiting Montana, visiting the communities, and wanting to have a good fishing experience.”
McGree says work includes improving fish passage through culvert replacements, installing riparian fencing and creating spawning habitat.
The approved projects will receive seven million dollars in program funding and are located in communities around the state including Butte, Missoula, Dillon and Glasgow.
-
Local hikers, hunters and more shared their personal backcountry experiences at a rally in Missoula last week as the U.S. Forest Service considers a major policy change for roadless lands.
-
Fourteen black bears were killed last week following an investigation at a Bozeman-area home. Game wardens say the bears had stopped relying on natural foods and were completely unafraid of humans.
-
“Unprecedented.” That’s the word wildlife managers keep using to describe bear conflicts in Red Lodge. “This year has really been kind of off the charts in terms of conflicts,” says Chrissy Webb, a spokesperson with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
-
More than 900 bison owned by American Prairie are at the center of a national debate. The Bureau of Land Management wants them off of federal grazing allotments in northeast Montana. A judge says they can stay temporarily. MTPR's Caroline Weiss sat down with Montana PBS reporter Matt Standal to learn more.
-
The Environmental Protection Agency announced changes to lead cleanup in Butte, as work continues to clean up toxic legacy mine waste in the city. The decision cut the threshold that triggers cleanup of lead in soils within priority residential areas by nearly a third.
-
State officials confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, in a small, commercial flock of Ravalli County chickens Thursday; Glacier National Park officials Thursday announced that Tularemia was detected in a beaver.