Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is proposing to build a fish barrier as part of a larger project to help restore native westslope cutthroat trout in the Little Belt Mountains and will hold a public meeting in Neihart to discuss the project at 6 p.m. on May 20.
The fish barrier is part of a native fish restoration project on Harley Creek near Neihart that will isolate 5.5 miles of the creek from downstream non-native fish populations, remove non-native fish upstream of the barrier, and expand westslope cutthroat trout into the restored habitat from Graveyard Gulch, which is a tributary to Harley Creek.
FWP is considering the proposed action to prevent the loss of a unique genetic population of westslope cutthroat native to north-central Montana. By expanding their current range and adding stream mileage to the conservation goals for the Belt Creek drainage, FWP hopes to reduce the likelihood that the fish will be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The public meeting will take place at the Monarch-Neihart Community and Senior Center, 200 S Main St, at 6 p.m. on May 20. The meeting will include a short presentation by the FWP project biologist followed by a question-and-answer session.
A draft Environmental Assessment is currently under review and will be released for public comment soon. For more information contact Alex Poole at alex.poole@mt.gov or 406-454-5845.