FWP biologist Jim Olsen shows Director Temple and Governor Gianforte the department’s spawning habitat improvement project.

WISE RIVER – Joining Governor Greg Gianforte, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Dustin Temple recently celebrated rising trout counts in the Big Hole River at a trout habitat improvement project.

“Our latest annual spring survey numbers are promising and while they do give me hope, we still have a long way to go,” Director Temple said. “I am proud of the department’s biologists' hard work. We will continue to make the Big Hole a top priority.”

FWP Director Temple and Governor Gianforte receive an update from FWP biologist Jim Olsen regarding the latest trout spring survey numbers from the Big Hole River.

“The Big Hole is one of our prized rivers that supports the livelihoods of thousands of Montanans and it’s great to see encouraging numbers for trout across all areas of the Jefferson Basin,” Gov. Gianforte said. “I am grateful to FWP for addressing community concerns with declining populations and finding solutions.”

Visiting the project near Wise River, the director heard from FWP biologist Jim Olsen on the results of their annual spring fish population survey that show stable or increased counts of brown and rainbow trout populations in all four sections of the river. The most promising piece of data from the spring survey is the rising number of 2-year-old trout – the largest sample collected in the last six years. All four sections of the Big Hole that were monitored at least doubled the number of juvenile fish.

“While we’re still well below long-term averages, these numbers are encouraging,” Olsen said. “We don’t get big ones unless we get little ones, and we haven’t seen a strong year like this in a while.”

The visit to the project comes nearly a year after the governor and FWP convened a roundtable discussion, bringing together fishing guides, anglers, irrigators, ag producers and biologists to discuss declining trout populations in the Jefferson Basin.

Since 2011, trout populations have steadily declined in several areas of the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers. In response, last year, FWP invested $3.2 million in monitoring efforts along the Big Hole to respond to declining populations and help manage the resource.

“The rivers in southwest Montana, including the Big Hole, are one of the agency’s top priorities,” Director Temple said. “I am proud of the department’s biologists who are working on this every day to provide incredibly valuable insight into this issue. While we still have a long way to go, these numbers are encouraging and give me hope for the future of this fishery.”

In response to population declines, FWP, in partnership with Montana State University (MSU), last summer launched several research efforts to study fish mortality, juvenile fish and fish health to better understand the causes of these declines, which are linked to flows, water temperature, disease and other factors. The university recruited a team of graduate students and technicians to conduct the trout recruitment and determine where the young fish are coming from. They are also looking to identify any bottlenecks at the juvenile stage.

“We’ve brought together a great team of new people here at MSU to collaborate with the experienced professionals at FWP as well as interact with the anglers and other river users,” MSU professor Dr. Alexander Zale said. “We’re making good progress and I’m very excited to start seeing findings come in soon.”