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 Northwest Power and Conservation Council's  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 project facilitates efforts by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) ) to protect and enhance critical fish habitat within the Flathead River watershed through the acquisition of real property.  We seek to rebuild to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system.  We propose to (1) secure habitats through land acquisition and conservation easements; (2) enhance existing and newly acquired habitats to maximize their value to fish; and (3) utilize a balanced, watershed-wide approach to reverse the downward trends in native species and protect healthy populations.  The purpose of this project is to provide a mechanism for BPA to fund, and CSKT to implement, the permanent protection and mitigation of resident fish habitat to help fulfill BPA's duties under the Northwest Power Act, and specifically is to partially mitigate the inundation impacts of Hungry Horse Dam based on the Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam, March 1991; and Determination of Fishery Losses in the Flathead System Resulting from the Construction of Hungry Horse Dam, January 1986. The Council adopted the losses for Hungry Horse into the Council’s program in 1993.  Operational impacts and annual fish production impacts are not addressed in this statement of work, and nothing is intended to define BPA’s obligations, other than mitigation for development in the form of construction and inundation impacts directly related to Hungry Horse Dam, or to affect on-going or future mitigation to address operational or annual production impacts, if any.  The capital portion of this project is utilized to actually fund the purchase resident fish habitat.  Each acquisition offsets a portion of  the 125 km of habitat inundated by Hungry Horse Dam. To date, this project has protected approximately 3,771 acres of habitat and credited BPA with 35.87 km of stream habitat.  

In fiscal year 2023, we hope to close up to 7 properties focusing primarily on the Jocko River, Mission/Post Creek and lower Flathead River drainages.  The Tribes have closed on 1-4 properties per year in recent years.

BPA will pay closing and acquisition costs directly into escrow as provided in the amended 2012-22 MOU between CSKT and BPA.