Image by Pat Clayton, Fish Eye Guy Photography

Lost Horse Runs Free: Stream Restoration & Rehabilitation in the Bitterroot

Lost Horse Runs Free: Stream Restoration & Rehabilitation in the Bitterroot

When

Thursday, March 19    
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Where

Clark Fork Coalition Offices
 140 S 4th St West, Missoula

Event Type

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Image by Pat Clayton, Fish Eye Guy Photography

Join us Thursday, March 19 for a brown-bag lunch presentation about innovative stream restoration work underway in the Bitterroot Valley!

Clark Fork Coalition project manager Jed Whiteley will discuss how the Coalition and the Ward Irrigation District crafted a win/win solution to a long-time water use problem on Lost Horse Creek, the last quarter mile of which ran dry each summer due to an obstructing irrigation ditch. The informal discussion will also include an overview of the Coalition’s work on Lolo, O’Brian, and Tin Cup creeks.

Participants will learn how the Lost Horse Creek project reestablishes year-round connection between Lost Horse Creek and the Bitterroot River by re-routing the irrigation ditch beneath the creek. This cutting-edge design restores hundreds of millions of gallons of cold, clean water to Lost Horse Creek, ensuring that both fish and irrigators have the water they need in the dry summer months. For the first time in 85 years, this critical native trout stronghold is running unimpeded to the Bitterroot, allowing bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and other wild fish to swim from the mouth to the headwaters.

This event is part of the Coalition’s monthly Walk & Talk series, which keeps citizens informed about hot topics and recent developments in the Clark Fork River watershed.