Big Hole River Drought Management Plan

Shared Sacrifice, Shared Success

The Big Hole River Drought Management Plan designates target river flow and temperature conditions for fish health in five river sections of the Big Hole River. The plan includes voluntary conservation targets for all water users, MFWP fishing restriction criteria, and information tools. Conservation actions are designed support the health of the fishery.

The plan outlines voluntary conservation actions and relies on Shared Sacrifice, Shared Success – if all users sacrifice, we can all be successful in protecting the fishery. The plan also designates MFWP fishing restrictions when drought conditions reach critical levels.

The BHWC DMP originated in 1997. The plan is reviewed annually by a committee made up of irrigators, fishermen, conservation groups, and agency representatives as well as the entire BHWC.

River Conditions

Streamflow Forecast

From Mike Roberts, DRNC Hydrologist and Jacqueline Knutson, MFWP Hydrology Technician. As of 9/20/2017:

Streamflows: We’ve had a great recovery in the last few weeks due to cooler temperatures and increased precipitation. It was a very dry summer and we hit some low flows in the upper basin and at the lower end of the river. All of the gauges are now reading above average – the recent storms came through for us.

Forecast: Looking like we may go into another La Nina winter. It has been ENSO-neutral this summer. Now trending toward La Nina, which means colder and more precipitation. (It’s much better for our watershed to be trending in this direction rather than neutral or trending toward El Nino, because we want to get a good snowpack.)

These forecasts are always subject to change. (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/).

View the Forecast Details

2016 Fundraising

$9100

$4550

2017 USGS Gage Bill:
$9,100

Water Temperature at Big Hole River @ Wise River (Dickie Bridge), Maiden Rock, and Notch Bottom (Glen):
$3,600

USGS Flow Gages for Upper Big Hole CCAA program:
$5,500

Make a River Gage Donation Today

Resources

Success Story

The Wise River real-time gage was installed near the mouth of the Wise River October 2015. The Big Hole Watershed Committee sought installation in order to continue flow and temperature monitoring in the Wise River, as well provide information for Wise River irrigators. The gage reports flow, stage and water temperature in real-time via Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Surface Water website. The gage is part of the 2015 launch of DNRC & Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology real-time monitoring system for small streams, who installed and operates the gage. Funding was provided by Big Hole Watershed Committee, The Nature Conservancy, and Montana Trout Unlimited and is graciously hosted on the PKR Ranch. The Big Hole Watershed Committee in partnership with DNRC, MFWP, and Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology have been conducting monitoring of the Wise River surface and groundwater since 2011.

Fish & Water