Fort Peck Dam Dredge cut. (Photo by U. S. Army Corps ol Engineers) 



used in Montana forest spraying against spruce 

 budworm) and required 18 months to regain 

 pre-treatment numbers. 



During 1962, thirteen Montana trout streams 

 were surveyed to measure the amount of 

 stream channel alterations and to determine 

 the parties responsible for the alterations. The 

 streams were chosen so as to cover all areas of 

 the state. It was found: 



1. One-third of the total length of the 

 streams surveyed (250 of 768 miles) had 

 been altered from their natural condi- 

 tion. 



2. There were nearly three alterations per 

 stream mile and the average length of a 

 stream alteration was 664 feet. 



3. The most serious loss to fish production 

 was nearly a 10 percent decrease in the 

 natural length of stream channel. 



4. There were over 5 '/a times as many 

 catchable-sized trout and nearly 10 times 

 as many whitefish censused in natural 

 channels as in the altered channels. 



A booklet describing the survey and its re- 

 sults was published by the department. It was 

 acclaimed by Oscar Godbout in THE NEW 

 YORK TIMES (April 21, 1964) "one of the most 

 impressive pieces of documentation of damage 

 this writer has ever seen". 



The 1963 legislature passed the Stream 

 Conservation Law whereby protection and 

 preservation of fish and game resources, par- 

 ticularly fishing waters, was declared to be a 

 policy of the state. The law provides that agen- 

 cies or subdivisions of the state government 

 shall give the Fish and Game Commission ad- 

 vance notice of projects affecting stream chan- 

 nels. The Fish and Game Department reviews 

 plans for such projects and, if damage will oc- 

 cur to fish or game habitat, the commission 

 makes recommendations to evade or minimize 

 the damage. The law also provides for arbitra- 

 tion if agreement cannot be reached between 

 the Fish and Game Commission and the con- 

 structing agency. 



Construction of Fishing Lakes 



During the biennium the department built 

 a dike across the dredge cut which was dug 

 when Fort Peck Dam was built. The dike iso- 

 lates a 65-acre lake which has been chemically 

 treated to eliminate non-game fish and re- 

 planted with trout. The U. S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers cooperated in this project. 



The department gave financial assistance 

 to other organizations and agencies in the fol- 

 lowing projects involving public fishing lakes: 



Increasing depth of 12-acre combination 

 stockwater pond on Rush Hall ranch near 

 Baker, Montana to make it suitable for fish- 

 life. 



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