Hebgen Lake Rainbow & 24,613 338,535 363,148 



Yellowstone 



Cutthroat 

 Holter Res. Rainbow 310,631 325,089 635,720 



Kookanusa Westslope 656,846 495,356 1,152,202 



Cutthroat 



Reservoir Operations/Drought Actions 



The winter of 1986-87 was mild and extremely dry. The normal 

 spring rains did not materialize and runoff into Canyon Ferry 

 Reservoir near Helena was only 37 percent of normal. The 

 Department's Canyon Ferry advisory committee held an emergency 

 meeting in May to assess the drought situation and develop a 

 contingency flow recommendation. As a result, flows were reduced 

 below recommended minimums to conserve storage for later in the 

 season. A similar advisory committee is being formed for Tiber 

 Reservoir. The dry spring conditions and subsequent irrigation 

 demand resulted in complete dewatering of a portion of the Ruby 

 River and a substantial fish kill before flows could be augmented 

 from Ruby Reservoir. To protect the Department's instream flow 

 rights during the drought, lists of water users with junior water 

 rights were compiled and updated and initial notification letters 

 were prepared. A reporting system was set up to monitor 

 streamflows on selected waters. 



Instream Flow Projects 



The purpose of the projects is to obtain instream flows in 

 Montana streams for protection of fisheries, wildlife, and 

 recreation. Two projects were active: (1) The Upper Clark Fork 

 River Basin water reservation application was completed and 

 submitted to DNRC on December 1, 1985. DNRC held public scoping 

 meetings in late March 1987 and began the process of preparing 

 the required Environmental Impact Statement, which should be 

 completed by March 1988. Following that, contested case hearings 

 will be held and the Board of Natural Resources may make a 

 decision by late 1988. (2) The Missouri River water reservation 

 application is due at DNRC by the legislated deadline of July 1, 

 1989. Most of the field work was completed in the basin above 

 Canyon Ferry Reservoir during the period. Field work began, and 

 is continuing, in the lower Missouri basin, and drafting of some 

 sections of the application began in the latter portion of the 

 report period. 



Fishing Access Site Acquisitions 



The Department purchased 21 FASs totalling 800 acres (including 

 purchased and leased land) in Fiscal Year 1986 for a total 

 purchase/annual lease cost of $478,405. In Fiscal Year 1987, 23 

 FASs totalling 985 acres ( ino \uding purchased and leased lands) 



17 



