The Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone

Near the Yellowstone river's confluence with the Missouri are the sandstone bluffs that inspired American Indians to name the river "Yellow rock" or Yellowstone. That is also where William Clark reunited with Meriwether Lewis following his separate exploration of the river.

Why the Conservancy is working here

The Yellowstone is unique among rivers. It has been spared the fate of most other rivers in the U.S.; except for irrigation diversions, it is still undammed. In fact, it's the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. It still does what rivers do best: builds islands for wildlife, carves channels for fish and delivers water to a variety of users throughout the long Yellowstone Valley. Yet many consider the Yellowstone to be among the most threatened rivers in the country.

Threats

The Yellowstone -- which originates near the southwestern border of Yellowstone National Park and runs north to the town of Livingston -- is threatened by housing development and channel modification. Downstream, as the river flows through eastern Montana, some of the warm water fish, like the endangered pallid sturgeon and paddle fish, are in trouble, in part due to the impact of diversion structures for irrigation. Other threats include invasive plants, improper grazing and irrigation practices, and storage dams on some tributaries.

Our conservation strategy

The Nature Conservancy has established a community-based program, based in Billings, to work collaboratively with other conservation organizations and government agencies to develop strategies for protecting the Lower Yellowstone. The Conservancy is working with the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, several state and federal agencies and the Yellowstone Conservation Forum to develop a process for conserving the river that includes agricultural landowners, recreationists, industry, business, environmentalists and local government.

How We're Working

The Conservancy's focus on the Yellowstone began in earnest following the successive 100-year floods of 1996 and 1997. We have joined the Army Corps of Engineers and its local partner, The Yellowstone River Conservation Council, on a comprehensive cumulative effects study for the river system. Once the study provides more data about the threats, the partners will work to develop a set of best management practices for the river and incentive-based cost share programs that promote responsible conservation.

The Conservancy has worked with local irrigators and government agencies to revive the warm water fishery in the lower Yellowstone. One project involves building a fish bypass canal around the Tongue and Yellowstone diversion dam (also known as the 12-mile dam) to allow native fish to reach their traditional spawning and rearing habitat on the Tongue River.

The Conservancy is also part of a coalition to remove fish migration barriers at two irrigation dams on the Yellowstone main stem. A major project involves constructing improvements for fish passage at the Intake Diversion Dam near Glendive, Montana. With the support of the Montana COngressional delegation, the Conservancy has been instrmental in passing legislation authorizing conservation activities on the system. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation are completing an environmental analysis and working together on improvements for fish passage at the Intake Dam. Legislation authorises these two agencies to spend a portion of existing and future Missouri River recovery funds on this project, which would focus on reconnecting more than 160 miles of endangered pallid sturgeon spawning habitat.