pilot fisheries development program funded by WWP and DFWP 

 was recently extended by two years. 



Test netting in Cabinet Gorge Reservoir indicates lake 

 whitefish, largemouth bass, yellow perch, and brown trout 

 populations are possibly increasing. Evidence of brown trout 

 spawning in reservoir tributaries has also increased during 

 the past seven years. 



Sampling of fish populations in Noxon Rapids Reservoir 

 show fairly stable results from 1960 through 1982, followed 

 by a marked increase in 1987. The increase was largely 

 suckers and yellow perch, but brown trout populations show 

 some signs of increase. Improved habitat resulting from the 

 new reservoir operations policy is expected to result in 

 increased fish numbers and improved growth rates. 



Large drawdowns of the lower river reservoirs seriously 

 affect aesthetic quality and recreational opportunity. As 

 reservoirs are drawn down, large areas of mudflats are 

 exposed to wind and water erosion. Not only do these areas 

 have low aesthetic qualities, but access to the water for 

 fishing, boating, and swimming is restricted. 



A new threat of hydropower impacts on fish and wildlife 

 resources began in 1978 with the passage of the federal 

 Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) . This act 

 stimulated a flurry of proposals for small-scale hydropower 

 projects on tributary streams throughout western Montana. 

 Resource managers were concerned that hydropower facilities 

 constructed in some stream reaches would seriously affect 

 important fish habitat and spawning areas, block fish 

 movements, alter water quality, and modify wildlife habitat 

 (Zackheim 1984). -: 



An important action was taken in August 1988 when the 

 Northwest Power Planning Council adopted a proposal to 

 designate certain stream reaches in western Montana to be 

 protected from future hydroelectric power development. 

 Stream areas with critical fish and wildlife habitat or value 

 are designated as protected areas. The NWPPCs action became 

 effective on September 14, 1988 through the amendment of the 

 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NWPPC 1987) 

 to include the protected area designations. 



Many stream reaches within the Clark Fork Basin have 

 been designated as "protected areas". Additional information 

 on the specific protected areas is available from the NWPPC 

 offices in Helena, Montana, or Portland, Oregon. 



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