creeks and the Poplar River originating in Canada, and Redwater 

 Creek (River) from the south. 



The lower Missouri drainage contained the second highest 

 number of Class I stream miles and the fourth highest number of 

 Class II stream miles when compared to the other drainages in the 

 state. The Missouri main stem contributed 168 of the Class I 

 miles and the lower reaches of the Milk contributed the remaining 

 99 miles. The presence of paddlefish, pallid sturgeon and 

 shortnose gar resulted in these Class I values. No reaches 

 received a Class I or II final resource value due to their sport 

 fishery value. 



The 477 miles receiving a Class II final resource value 

 included reaches of the Redwater, Poplar and Milk rivers, resulted 

 from local community importance coupled with high species 

 diversity or Missouri main stem essential spawning habitat. 

 Although only one percent of the mileage received a Class V final 

 resource value, 27 percent of the stream miles received a Class V 

 in the sport fishery value. Even though a high species diversity 

 in many of the reaches resulted in higher habitat and species 

 values, their fisheries are not used extensively for recreation. 



Among the 53 fish species inventoried in the Missouri River 

 below Fort Peck Dam are three Class A species of special concern 

 -- paddlefish, pallid sturgeon, and shortnose gar -- once common 

 throughout the Missouri-Mississippi river system. Today, due to 

 widespread impoundment and channelization, these large river 

 species are restricted to isolated populations between dams where 

 the impoundments provide necessary feeding habitat. 



Two of the six remaining paddlefish populations reside in 

 Montana -- one above Fort Peck Dam, and the other inhabiting the 

 Missouri and Yellowstone rivers between Fort Peck Dam and Garrison 

 Dam in North Dakota. Dredge cuts formed during the construction 

 of Fort Peck Dam also provide a unique fishery for paddlefish, 

 with the primary harvest method being bow and arrow. The dredge 

 cuts provide year-round habitat for these prehistoric relicts with 

 a population estimated in 1979 near 3,000. Another inhabitant of 

 the Fort Peck dredge cuts, although rare, is the shortnose gar, 

 with Montana being at the upper limit of its range. Although the 

 population status of the pallid sturgeon is unknown in Montana, 

 its populations have dwindled throughout its downstream range. In 

 1979, the Endangered Species Committee of the American Fisheries 

 Society designated this species as threatened. 



In addition to the unique fishery offered by the Missouri's 

 prehistoric inhabitants, the river below Fort Peck Dam also offers 

 a lake trout fishery and an unusual strain of rainbow trout 

 adapted to the conditions found below the dam. Recent studies 

 indicate that the "Fort Peck" rainbow, although not particularly 

 abundant, are characterized by excellent longevity and growth 

 rates, are self-sustaining with spawning occurring in the spring, 



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