FWP and partners complete watershed restoration project on Mount Haggin WMA

Restoration work culminates in native fish stocking

ANACONDA – This year, staff from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and partners stocked native fish into French Creek on the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area south of Anaconda.

The fish stocking marks the culmination of a nine-year collaborative effort to restore native fish populations, riparian habitat and upland areas along the creek.

Habitat restoration work was necessary due to impacts from placer mining and other historical uses. Partner organizations helped improve habitat and water quality in French Creek by restoring a meandering creek channel, reducing sediment in the creek from excessive erosion, and expanding the floodplain to recreate a wider riparian area.

Non-native trout had also displaced native fish in French Creek. So in 2019, FWP constructed a fish migration barrier at the lower end of the creek. This barrier prevents non-native fish from swimming upstream and protects about 40 stream miles of habitat for native fish. Once the barrier was in place, FWP removed the non-native fish with rotenone, a natural chemical used in fish removal efforts.

This year, FWP stocked westslope cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling into French Creek. Stocking efforts will continue for the next two years while the fish become self-sustaining. As these populations return, French Creek will hold one of the largest interconnected populations of westslope cutthroat trout in the upper Missouri River drainage and Montana’s only population of fluvial Arctic grayling existing in the absence of non-native fish.

“It's wide open for public use,” said Jim Olsen, FWP’s fisheries biologist in the Big Hole area. “We hope people will come and fish here. It’s going to be a great fishery.”

Numerous organizations have contributed to watershed restoration efforts in French Creek. These include the Anaconda Sportsmen’s Club, Big Hole Watershed Committee, Bureau of Land Management, George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Montana Trout Foundation, Montana Trout Unlimited, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NorthWestern Energy, Trout and Salmon Foundation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Western Native Trout Initiative.

“We’re so grateful to our partners for their tireless efforts in helping this project come to fruition,” Olsen said.

To view a video highlighting the fish stocking in French Creek, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cZa_u19hQs.