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Columbia Basin Fish Accords
  • Accord Partner: The State of Montana

    The priority for Montana's Accord is purchasing land and conservation easements in the northwestern part of the State to protect resident fish habitat in the beautiful Swan Valley, shown below. This effort is complemented by many other ongoing projects in the State of Montana to protect resident fish and wildlife.

      Swan Valley is prime habitat for resident fish and wildlife. 
      
      Coal Creek: Placing large wood into Montana's Coal Creek helps provide a more natural habitat and refuge for fish.
     

    Westslope cuthroat trout are raised at Sekokoni Springs Hatchery, east of Kalispel. The trout are indigineous to the Kootenai, Flathead, and Clark Fork watersheds in Montana, where they have lived for thousands of years.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Cutthroat trout are being transported to Pyramid Lake for release, in a project to protect and restore native trout to high mountain lakes in Montana.

     

      Black Lake, site of project to restore native cutthroat trout

     

  • About the State of Montana's Fish Accord

    On May 2, 2008, the State of Montana signed a Fish Accord with the Action Agencies.  The agreement provides up to $15.5 million for the permanent protection of resident fish habitat through land purchases and conservation easements in northwest Montana.

     

    As part of the agreement, the federal hydro operators also agreed to implement Montana’s operations at Libby and Hungry Horse dams. The operations would stabilize flows and keep more water in the reservoirs behind the facilities during the months of July, August and September, providing significant benefits to resident fish above and below the dams.

    Link to State of Montana Accord  

     

    Locations of Montana Fish Accords projects.

    Click here for larger view.

     
    Sites of land protection and restoration

    Swan Valley conservation easement

     
     Foys Bend Flathead River

    The Columbia Basin Fish Accords

    The Columbia Basin Fish Accords, first signed in 2008, establish a historic partnership among three federal action agencies (BPA, the Corps and Reclamation), six Northwest tribes and three states. 

     

    They provide firm commitments to hydro, habitat and hatchery actions, greater clarity about biological benefits and secure funding for 10 years.

     

     Under these agreements, the federal agencies, tribes and states work together as partners to provide tangible survival benefits for salmon recovery by upgrading passage over federal dams, restoring river and estuary habitat, and through scientific hatchery management.   

     
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