Big Hole River

The Milk River Project provides drinking and irrigation water to thousands of people along the Hi-Line. After a catastrophic failure in 2024, managers say irrigation will soon be restored in part. And, a lawsuit filed by conservation groups alleges water quality violations in Big Hole River management.

State biologists have been tagging trout across southwest Montana to better understand the population’s health after years of declines. They report encouraging signs, but populations are still below average due in large part to an extended drought.

State environmental regulators have denied a petition to list the Big Hole River as impaired. Water conservation groups worry this will continue to harm the river, and its aquatic life.

Four people were fined $135 each by Montana game wardens for riding off-road vehicles across a closed stretch of the Big Hole 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.

Cloud seeding could be used to boost winter snowpack in the Big Hole watershed. That’s according to researchers with the National Science Foundation.

A federal judge in Montana Tuesday ordered the US Fish and Wildlife Service to reevaluate the protected status of Arctic Grayling in the Big Hole River. But, the service is ordered not to consider landowner-led, voluntary conservation efforts.

Trout populations in the Big Hole river increased slightly after hitting historic lows last year, according to preliminary estimates released by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.

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

Over 300 acres of wetland meadows in the Big Hole River have been transferred to the U.S. Forest Service for permanent conservation.