After years of planning, interagency collaboration, and dedicated implementation, BHRA has successfully completed the reactivation stage of its multi-year Side-Channel Reactivation project on the Bighorn River. This milestone marks the largest multi-channel reconnection effort ever undertaken on a Montana tailwater fishery and stands as the most significant endeavor put forth by the organization since inception.  After reactivation of three final channels in 2024, we are proud to share that nine Bighorn side-channels are flowing once again, returning 4.58 miles of complex river habitat back to the river and its wild trout.

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The Bighorn Side-Channel Reactivation project is a story of how humans can work together to build river resilience.

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Numerous studies conducted on the Bighorn River by federal and state agencies have documented that increased channelization of the river has, in the words of MFWP: “[decreased] side-channel habitat that is critical in maintaining the exceptional trout fishery of the Bighorn.” A 1990 thesis study found that the majority of wild trout spawning activity is associated with side-channels, which “account for 80.2% of redds counted.”  Federal studies by USBR in 2010 and 2012 report “geomorphic complexity has decreased on the river since 1961 as side-channels have become abandoned” and that “mechanical opening of Bighorn side-channels serves as the best option to restore connectivity” as “Yellowtail Dam releases are not likely to reverse the trend on their own.” ​

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BHRA has dedicated the past five years breathing action into the scientific recommendations cited above resulting in the nine restored channels we see today - five of which would be dry at the current river release of 2,250 cfs had action not been taken.

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Now, we monitor if the connections sustain.

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Will the side-channels maintain connection to the river over time? Will they function at minimum river flows? Will the designed channel entrances encourage sediment transport over accrual? Over the next five years we will work to answer these questions through annual geomorphic surveys, orthophoto documentation and frequent discharge readings,  monitoring that will require a heavy BHRA field commitment and sustained donor support.

 

We may find we need to revisit some side-channels to make adjustments, discover some channels are not feasible to support, or that the urge of mainstem channelization is too strong to maintain certain connections. We may also find great success- leading to further channel enhancement projects, fish use studies and more restored channels.

For  now,  we  celebrate with  you the  restored connections  made possible through years of research, interagency collaboration and sustained donor support, while simultaneiously mending our lines towards the monitioring stage of which we will work together to learn.