Nilan Reservoir Habitat Project

We’ve got a project.  It has been hard to find projects lately.  This is a good one.  I know many of our members have been fishing here for years.  We are excited to help FWP and the Sun River Watershed Group with this project.  If you are interested in putting in some labor, we will have a call out when the time is near.  Let us know.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 Local organizations announce trout habitat project this summer at Nilan Reservoir 

 The Sun River Watershed Group (SRWG) was recently awarded funding from Montana Trout Unlimited and the Missouri River Flyfishers to improve trout spawning habitat at Nilan Reservoir. The project, guided by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), will improve natural spawning by adding gravels to the stream connecting the upper and middle reservoirs. 

“Currently, this irrigation reservoir fishery is maintained through annual stocking by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fish hatcheries. The addition of suitable trout spawning habitat will help add a wild trout component to this fishery,” explains FWP Region 4 Fish Biologist, Katie Vivian. Work will occur late this summer or early fall and will improve approximately 350 feet of stream. 

Montana Trout Unlimited State Council President Brian Neilsen adds, “We are so glad to support this project to improve habitat at Nilan Reservoir. I love when groups collaborate and work together for a good cause.” Neilsen also serves as Vice President of the Missouri River Flyfishers, a Trout Unlimited affiliate based in Great Falls. Both groups also supported SRWG’s crossing replacement and habitat improvement project on Muddy Creek, which will be completed this year as well. 

Nilan Reservoir, located seven miles west of Augusta, Montana, has grown in popularity with anglers in recent years. Though the landowner permits public access for fishing, the reservoir is located on private property, so SRWG reminds anglers to follow the posted rules, parking well off the road, packing out trash, keeping fences in-tact, and being respectful. 

The Sun River Watershed Group is a nonprofit organization that works to protect and restore the resources of the Sun River watershed and its communities. For more information about SRWG’s work and other projects, contact watershed coordinator Tracy Wendt at tracy@sunriverwatershed.org or visit the website www.sunriverwatershed.org. 

 Photos: Nilan Reservoir, by Fred Telleen 

###  

Contact: 

Tracy Wendt, Sun River Watershed Group 

(406) 214 2868 

tracy@sunriverwatershed.org