 |
| Fridley Creek |
Park County, Montana |
Primary Project Type: Fish Passage
Secondary Type: |
 |
| |
Once the culvert was installed, Fridley Creek was able to flow in its original s... |
|
|
 |
Primary Problem: Irrigation Canals/Diversions
Secondary Problem: |
| Main Restoration Action(s): Channel reconstruction, Culvert replacement, Grade control structures |
| Native Fish Focus: Yellowstone cutthroat |
Is this project part of a watershed scale restoration? No
|
| Project Dates: September 2003 to June 2005 |
| |
Initial Monitoring: June 2004
Restoration Implementation: Spring 2004
Follow-up Monitoring: Ongoing |
|
Lead Agency:
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
|
| Project Partners: |
|
| Project Location:
This project takes place on the North Fork of Fridley Creek in the Paradise Valley, Montana. The headwaters of Fridley Creek are at the base of Fridley Peak in the Hyalite Mountains of the Gallatin Range in southwestern Montana. These headwaters begin as one stream and split into a north and south fork en route to the Yellowstone River. The north fork historically flowed into the Yellowstone River near Emigrant approximately 45 miles south of Livingston, Montana.
To view a map of the project area, click here.
|
| |
Project Description:
Yellowstone cutthroat trout have lost almost 50 percent of their range in Montana due to habitat loss, introductions of non-native fish, and climate change. Yellowstone cutthroat trout have not had access to the North Fork of Fridley Creek’s (Fridley Creek) historical spawning habitat for over seventy years, as the creek has not been able to complete the journey from its headwaters to the Yellowstone River. In the early 1930s, the creek was diverted directly into the Park Branch Canal, which receives water diverted from several Yellowstone River tributaries upstream. Reconnecting Fridley Creek to the Yellowstone River would provide Yellowstone cutthroat trout access to important historic spawning habitat.
Irrigation from the Park Branch Canal and Fridley Creek is critical to farming operations in southern Paradise Valley, Montana. The Murphys, owners of the Ox Yoke Ranch and lifelong residents, have a water right on the Fridley Creek dating back to 1880. During low-flow periods, the Murphys have traditionally used most of the creek’s flow to flood irrigate hay used to feed their small herd of Black Angus cattle. Unfortunately, spawning for Yellowstone cutthroat trout coincides with the mid-summer irrigation season, when instream flows are low. Yellowstone cutthroat trout depend on tributaries to spawn when runoff slows. Their eggs incubate as stream flows reach midsummer lows. Midsummer also provides warmer water temperatures and ample forage, a productive time for young Yellowstone cutthroat trout to grow. To restore original spawning habitat for Yellowstone cutthroat trout while respecting historical water rights for irrigation, sufficient water must be retained in Fridley Creek during midsummer low-flow periods without reducing farming operations on the Ox Yoke Ranch. |
| Project Goals: The goals of this project were to reconnect Fridley Creek to the Yellowstone River and reopen historical spawning habitat to Yellowstone cutthroat trout and other fish species, without impacting hay production at the Ox Yoke Ranch. |
| Project Methods:
Due to a collaborative effort between Park County landowners Sean and Jim Murphy of the Ox Yoke Ranch, Trout Unlimited and the Gallatin County Land Trust, Fridley Creek is once again flowing into the Yellowstone River. Trout Unlimited was responsible for securing almost $120,000 in state and federal grant money for this project. As a result, access has been restored to seven miles of Fridley Creek’s historic spawning habitat.
For more information on restoration of Fridley Creek’s flow into the Yellowstone River, click here.
|
 |
| |
Streamflow to the Yellowstone River was restored when a siphon, or tunnel, was c... |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
Trout Unlimited spearheaded efforts to identify and finance an alternative to fl... |
|
|
|
|
| Monitoring Data and Collection
Methods: In the spring of 2005, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks electro-fished Fridley Creek near the project site and found brown, rainbow, and brook trout in a 500-foot section at the upper diversion. A second 500-foot section was electro-fished at the new culvert under the Park Branch Canal and more fish were found. Perhaps the most important findings were below the culvert at the confluence with the Yellowstone River where 12 Yellowstone cutthroat trout and four young mountain whitefish were found, along with brown trout, rainbow trout, mottled sculpin, and brook stickleback. Most of these fish were yearlings, born in 2004—clear evidence that all of these species have begun to spawn in the reconstructed stream segment. In addition, Montana State University aquatic invertebrate monitoring has shown mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis have begun to colonize the restored habitat.
|
| Was this project effective
and how was this determined? The outcome of the Fridley Creek project is particularly important to efforts to restore dwindling populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Trout are highly faithful to their natal streams, memorizing the smell of their birthplace as they hatch and returning to their birthplace to spawn. The fish depend on tributaries, spawning as runoff slows. Their eggs incubate as streamflows reach midsummer lows. This is a productive time for young cutthroat trout to grow—with warmer water temperatures and ample forage. The critical conflict between the timing of trout spawning and summer irrigation needs must be negotiated in each tributary, a negotiation for which this project serves as a successful model.
|
| |
| Confounding Effects/Additional
Information: |
| Project
Specs (all specs are estimates): |
| |
Overall Estimated Cost:
$120,000 ($11,000 for culvert installation)
|
|
| For more information on this project
contact: |
| |
Sean Murphy, Landowner, Email: smurphy@wispwest.net
Julie Eaton, Trout Unlimited, Email: jeaton@tu.org
|
| This information
was collected by: Kristin Keith & Anne Martell |
| Project last updated on: 10/27/2006 |
|
 |
|
