The construction of Hungry Horse Dam inundated 125 km of adfluvial trout habitat in the South Fork of the Flathead River and its tributaries, impacting natural fish reproduction and rearing.  Rapid residential and commercial growth in the Flathead Watershed now threaten the best remaining habitats and restrict our opportunities to offset losses. Hydropower development and other land disturbances caused severe declines in the range and abundance of our focal resident fish species, bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Bull trout were listed as threatened in 1998 under the Endangered Species Act and westslope cutthroat were petitioned for listing under ESA.  Westslope cutthroat are a species of special concern in Montana and a species of special consideration by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.  Consistent with the 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, this project follows the logical progression towards habitat restoration outlined in the Hungry Horse Dam Fisheries Mitigation Implementation Plan approved by the NWPPC in 1993.  The Flathead River Subbasin Plan identifies the protection of habitats for these populations as one of the most critical needs in the subbasin and directs actions to offset these losses. This contact will serve to fund the preacquisition costs necessary to secure reamaining critical habitats through land acquisition and conservation easements.

The Flathead basin is one of the fastest growing human population centers in Montana. Riparian habitats are being rapidly developed and subdivided, causing habitat degradation and altering ecosystem functions.  Remaining critical habitats in the Flathead Watershed need to be purchased or protected with conservation easements if westslope cutthroat and bull trout are to persist and/or expand within the subbasin.  In addition, habitats degraded by past land uses need to be restored to maximize the value of remaining habitats and offset losses caused by the construction of Hungry Horse Dam.  The annual operation of Hungry Horse Dam will also continue to degrade riparian and in-channel habitats along the Flathead River above Flathead Lake and below Flathead Lake due to Kerr Dam's operational inability to control discharges from Hungry Horse Dam.  Securing and restoring remaining riparian habitat will benefit fish by shading and moderating water temperatures, stabilizing banks and protecting the integrity of channel dimension, improving woody debris recruitment for in-channel habitat features, producing terrestrial insects and leaf litter for recruitment to the stream, and helping to accommodate and attenuate flood flows.

The implementation of this contract is in accordance with the terms negotiated within the FY06 MOA between the State, Tribes and BPA.  The MOA lists 20 candidate properties, 18 of which will be the primary focus for the Tribes.  The State is working on the other two properties.  With BPA's concurrence, additional properties can be added to the list.  The focus of this contract will be to pursue the 18 properties (and/or whatever properties may be added) which total 9.97 km of creditable stream with the possibility of adding additional properties at a later date.  Although we will not be able to acquire all properties (or total stream km) on the list due to limited funding, limited time, and landowner constraints, we will purchase as many properties as we possibly can within the constraints.