Guest column: Working to restore the East Gallatin watershed

By Lilly McLane and Connor Parish Guest columnist

Link to Bozeman Daily Chronicle Article

Once upon a time, the East Gallatin River was thickly swaddled in willows and cottonwoods, dammed by beavers to the extent that the valley was an impassable swamp. The “Valley of Flowers” was a paradise for fish, wildlife, and the Native Americans who traveled here to harvest foods.

Today, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the water quality in the entire length of the East Gallatin is degraded to a point where it is causing stress to the fishery: water temperatures are too high, water levels too low, excess nitrogen and phosphorus are causing algal blooms, and sediment is layering the river bottom. In the Lower Gallatin Watershed, fifteen streams are considered impaired by DEQ, twelve of which are tributaries to the East Gallatin alone.

In the past year the Gallatin Watershed Council (GWC) and Trout Unlimited (TU) successfully secured funding through the Department of Environmental Quality’s 319 Non-point Source Project Program for stream and wetland restoration projects in the East Gallatin watershed. These projects were successful not only because of their proposed improvements to water quality, but also because they are connected to a larger story of work and partnerships.

A river can heal, but we must help it. By protecting and restoring the natural features of a river and its surrounding landscape, it can better provide for our community and wildlife.

The Gallatin Watershed Council received 319 funding for the design of a project on the East Gallatin River, upstream of Bozeman where Bear Creek and Rocky Creek join. Here, infrastructure and agriculture have crept in on the river. Each of these man-made impacts constrain natural river function and contribute dispersed pollution to the river. The project is designed to allow the river to access its floodplain again, where high water will spill into a series of wetlands and be treated before returning to the East Gallatin. Wetlands are excellent at removing pollutants like excess sediment and nutrients, slowing the flow so that water infiltrates into the ground, cools, and makes its way to the river later in the summer when we need it most.

This project is a continuation of a similar project completed in 2018 on Rocky Creek Farm, led by the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. Several downstream neighbors are eager to link the restoration through their properties, totaling 1.5 contiguous river miles.

Trout Unlimited received 319 funding for Phase 3 of restoration on Dry Creek, a tributary to the East Gallatin River, downstream of Belgrade. Dry Creek is an important spawning tributary for rainbow and brown trout. In 2019, TU completed a project to improve fish access to Dry Creek by replacing an old irrigation diversion with a bypass structure that kept the lower mile of Dry Creek flowing and provided fish with year-round access to over 40 miles of stream. After the connection to the stream was improved, TU began working with landowners to address water quality and habitat impairments. Phases 1 and 2 were completed in 2020 which improved habitat along 2 miles of stream and resloped 50 large eroding stream banks. Reshaping the stream banks and stabilizing them with native vegetation resulted in an estimated sediment load reduction of 454 tons per year. This fall, Phase 3 will improve habitat along another mile of stream and eliminate another 139 tons of sediment.

The Gallatin Watershed Council and Trout Unlimited are always looking for new projects, willing partners, and funding opportunities to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Gallatin Valley. If we can keep linking miles of restored streams, there is an opportunity to make a real impact on the East Gallatin River.

Lilly McLane is the Restoration Director for the Gallatin Watershed Council and believes that our efforts to protect natural resources in the Gallatin Valley are strongest together. Connor Parish is a project manager for Trout Unlimited’s Gallatin Home River Initiative. His work focuses on protecting wild and native trout fisheries in the fastest growing county in Montana through restoration and community involvement.