Projects

Upper French Gulch Fish Passage

Project Description

Since 2014, the Big Hole Watershed Committee has invested significant time and energy into the French Creek drainage, a major tributary to the Big Hole River. Restoration projects in adjacent tributaries and the nearby Superfund site have all worked toward the common goals of reducing sediment and improving habitat for native fish. The Upper French Gulch Fish Passage and Restoration Project achieved these shared goals and is seen as the last major restoration project in the drainage, which has seen over 3.5 million dollars invested in the last 10 years.

The Upper French Gulch Fish Passage and Restoration Project area was the location of the first gold strike in the Big Hole drainage in the 1860s, and mining occurred through the early 1900s. The project is located approximately 0.5 miles upstream from the confluence of Julius Gulch and represents the most heavily mined area in the drainage. At the head of the main mining area, there was a very large head-cut where the stream dropped approximately 30-40 feet from its former channel elevation to the elevation of the mining work downstream. This drop and a perched culvert immediately upstream formed a complete barrier to fish passage. Downstream of the fish barrier, the stream flows through approximately 2,000 feet of confinement, where the stream is bordered directly by rock walls and mine excavations, known as the “Chinese Wall.” Below this point, several bare and erosive stream banks contributed to chronic sedimentation of the system, resulting in poor quality fish and spawning habitat for Westslope cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling.

In 2019, the Deer Lodge Valley Conservation District (DLVCD) and the BHWC received a Planning Grant (RITP-19-0155) from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program (RDGP) to conduct an alternatives analysis. The end goal of the alternatives analysis was to select an appropriate restoration action and develop preliminary designs to address the mining-related barriers to fish movement, degraded fish habitat and reduce sources of fine sediment to the system. A total of four alternatives with correlating conceptual designs and cost estimates were established. After review and analysis between Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP), Morrison and Maierle, Inc. (MMI), and the BHWC, the preferred action was chosen. Project partners agreed on the best method of stream reconnection based on multiple ecological, economic, and cultural factors. The funds from DNRC’s RDGP Planning Grant allowed for the necessary steps and subsequent documents to come to this conclusion and were the foundation of the eventual project.

In 2021, the DLVCD, in partnership with the BHWC, received a DNRC RDGP Project grant with the primary goal of implementing the chosen alternative to restore fish passage and connect 1.7 miles of pristine stream to the upper reaches of French Gulch. The secondary goal was to restore two eroding streambanks downstream of the cascade by revegetating and applying bioengineering techniques with hand crews and equipment.

Results

Project construction started on July 28, 2022, and was completed on October 6, 2022. In total, 31 step-pools were built to restore fish passage! Additionally, two large and eroding banks were restored and stabilized, reducing unnatural added sedimentation into French Gulch.