Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are working with private landowners in the Centennial Valley to improve habitat for Arctic grayling under an agreement called the Centennial Valley Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA).

The Centennial Valley CCAA is designed to improve stream habitat conditions for Arctic grayling on non-federal lands. Interested private landowners can voluntarily implement conservation measures for Arctic grayling on their lands in return for assurances from USFWS that if Arctic grayling were ever listed under the Endangered Species Act, nothing more would be asked of them.

A similar voluntary CCAA program in the Big Hole River Valley was very successful for Arctic grayling conservation. Since 2006, more than 250 projects have been implemented under the Big Hole CCAA program to conserve Arctic grayling and its habitat. Projects include riparian fencing, irrigation flow reductions, improved irrigation infrastructure, fish ladders, improved stock water systems, and both passive and active stream restoration.

Restored habitats in the Centennial Valley are expected to increase the distribution of Arctic grayling on non-federal lands, which is important because it increases the resiliency and representation of Arctic grayling in Montana.

In August 2014, USFWS determined that the Upper Missouri River Distinct Population Segment of Arctic grayling did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. However, a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle was partially unfavorable to the 2014 decision. The ruling means USFWS must reanalyze specific Arctic grayling information from the upper Missouri River drainage.

The implementation of the Centennial Valley CCAA will help conservation of Arctic grayling in Montana and provide enrolled landowners long-term certainty for continuing their ranching and agricultural operations, regardless of the listing status of Arctic grayling.

For more information, contact FWP Native Species Coordinator Lee Nelson at 406-444-2447 or leenelson@mt.gov or USFWS Biologist James Boyd at 406-547-6008 or James_Boyd@fws.gov.