Beaverhead River

The National Weather Service is forecasting a powerful windstorm across much of Montana Friday. Wind speeds between between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph are predicted.; Wildlife officials are reminding anglers of seasonal fishing closures in the Jefferson Basin.

Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new fishing regulations for the coming year.

The first rivers in Montana have been closed to fishing due to hot dry weather.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks biologists say historically low water levels and hot temperatures may severely impact cold-water fish in the region.

Bitterroot National Forest raised its fire danger to high this week. Montana wildlife officials restrict afternoon fishing on three rivers in southwest Montana.

Montana wildlife officials will begin studies this year to get to the bottom of a historic trout population crash in the Jefferson Basin. Montana wildlife officials have also created a new web portal for residents to submit reports of dead and diseased fish.

The director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) committed the full resources of the department in response to a historic population crash in some of southwest Montana’s most iconic trout fisheries.

Warmer than normal temperatures last month resulted in rapid snowmelt throughout much of the state. That has some experts hoping for a very wet June to help bolster projected streamflows as we head into the drier summer months.

Outfitters, conservationists and citizens have been sounding the alarm about rapidly declining trout numbers in southwest Montana’s Upper Missouri Headwaters for years. But demands for the state to dedicate more resources to studying the problem largely fell on deaf ears.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks has approved the purchase of two new parcels of land in the State, along the Beaverhead River and the Big Snowy Mountains.