Montana’s Legacy of River Protection

Wild, free-flowing rivers are an essential part of life in Montana. Their waters have shaped the landscapes and people of this area since long before they were known by any name or drawn on any map. From the crystal clear streams of the Crown of the Continent, to the muddy waters of the Upper Missouri, Montana’s rivers are the lifeblood of some of the most vast and intact ecosystems in North America. These rivers are places of ceremony and story, trade and transportation, conflict, collaboration, and so much more in the lives of the many people who live, work, and travel along their banks. For generations, they’ve fed Montana’s rich agricultural lands and today they support a thriving outdoor recreation industry that benefits communities across the state. 

Like many good stories, those of Montana’s rivers are riddled with conflict and controversy. In the mid-20th century, during the height of our nation’s dam-building era, Montana’s rivers were threatened by dozens of dam proposals that would have forever changed the landscapes and communities around them. This project is a small window into the history of six of those dams and the stories of people who fought to preserve the rivers and landscapes they love.

Land Acknowledgements & Cultural Recognition

These are but a few of the many stories that have shaped and been shaped by the rivers they tell about. We would like to acknowledge that this project does not tell a whole or complete story of these landscapes and offer our utmost respect to the many generations of people who have called them home. We extend our deepest gratitude to the Indigenous voices who helped to inform our land acknowledgements and offered to share place names and local ecological knowledge. We would also like to thank Native Land Digital for their work in creating resources that help to acknowledge and honor indigenous homelands and challenge us all to learn more about the places we inhabit. We are committed to learning more about the rich culture of these places and will continue to update our maps and land acknowledgments accordingly. If you have a suggested edit, we invite you to reach out to us and welcome your input.

Header Photo: The Clark Fork River upstream of Paradise, Montana

Header Photo by Mike Malament

The North Fork of the Flathead River flows for 153 miles through some of North America’s most iconic wild country from its headwaters in Canada’s Clark Range to its confluence with the Clark Fork River near Paradise, Montana. The river is known by many names, including kqaskanmituk in Ktunaxa, a language of the Kootenai people. Serving as a stronghold for native fish populations and feeding some of the nation’s last remaining habitat for rare carnivores such as wolverine and grizzlies, the North Fork of the Flathead is a vital part of the southern Crown of the Continent ecosystem. 

In 1943, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed damming the North Fork of the Flathead River between Glacier View Mountain and Huckleberry Mountain. The dam would have inundated over 50,000 acres of pristine wild land, nearly 10,000 of which are part of Glacier National Park, all in the name of flood control. 

Montana Congressman Mike Mansfield was perhaps the project’s greatest proponent, famously stating that the dam, "would not affect the beauty of the park in any way but would make it more beautiful by creating a large lake over ground that ... has no scenic attraction.” Public hearings were held in 1948 and 1949, following a few years of exploratory drilling and growing controversy over the proposal. Thanks to stark opposition from local ranchers and landowners, the National Park Service, and a number of conservation organizations, the project was defeated on April 11, 1949. The North Fork of the Flathead River from the Canadian border to its confluence with the Middle Fork of the Flathead was designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976 and remains the lifeforce of local landscapes and communities.

Section Photo: Paddling the North Fork of the Flathead River

Section Photo by Jeremy Snyder

From its headwaters near the Continental Divide, the Clark Fork River flows for approximately 310 miles through western Montana and northern Idaho before emptying into Lake Pend Oreille. The river and the cherished places along its course have many names, including the  Séliš (Salish) and Ql̓ispé (Kalispel) name NmesulétkF (“Shimmering Cold Waters”), referring to the middle Clark Fork River northwest of Missoula, MT. The Clark Fork sustains important habitat for an array of species and, as Montana’s largest river by volume, provides drinking water, irrigation, recreation opportunities, and much more to thousands of people across the western part of the state. 

In the 1940s the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a dam on the Clark Fork River near Paradise, MT. Designed as an alternative to the controversial Glacier View Dam proposed on the North Fork of the Flathead River, the Paradise Dam was intended to provide power generation and water storage for local communities. The 250-foot-high dam would have inundated some 66,000 acres along 49 miles of the Clark Fork River and 72 miles of the lower Flathead River, flooding the towns of St. Regis, Dixon, Superior, and Paradise, and requiring the relocation of nearly 3,000 people.

While some local organizations sided with the Army Corps of Engineers, support for the project paled in comparison to local and state-wide opposition. Threatening to infringe upon Native American rights, displace people from their communities and productive agricultural lands, and requiring the relocation of the National Bison Range, the project was ultimately defeated and the Paradise Dam was never built.

Section Photo: The Clark Fork River upstream of Paradise, Montana

Section Photo by Mike Malament

The glacial blue waters of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River course through 92 miles of pristine wild lands from their origins in the Great Bear Wilderness to their confluence with the North Fork of the Flathead River. The river served as a traditional travel route and remains a place of great importance for the Blackfeet, Séliš (Salish), and Kootenai people. Cold, clear waters provide important habitat for species such as westslope cutthroat trout and support a vast and vibrant landscape.  

In the late 1950s the Army Corps of Engineers rolled out a proposal to dam the Middle Fork of the Flathead River near Spruce Park. The proposed dam and reservoir would have flooded 2,100 acres of pristine river and wild country in the name of flood control, water storage, and power generation.  

Among Spruce Park Dam’s leading opponents were John and Frank Craighead, twin brothers and wildlife biologists known for their work studying grizzly bears in northwest Montana. The project and its potential impacts to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River inspired the Craighead brothers to launch an effort to gain federal protection for the nation’s remaining free-flowing rivers and their outstandingly remarkable values. Their efforts culminated in 1968 with the signing of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, a landmark law which remains the highest form of protection for rivers in the United States.. Though the Middle Fork of the Flathead wasn’t designated a National Wild and Scenic River until 1976, it will always be celebrated as the birthplace of this monumental step for river conservation. 

Section Photo: Fishing the Middle Fork of the Flathead River near Spruce Park

Section Photo by Lee Cohen

The Missouri River is the longest river in North America, weaving together a mosaic of landscapes from the Rocky Mountains of western Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in St. Louis, 2,341 miles downstream. The name Missouri is believed to have come from the word Oumessourit, an Ojibwe word meaning “people of the dug-out canoes,” which is just one of the river's many names. This story focuses on a reach of the upper Missouri River from Fort Benton, Montana to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

In the early 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a dam at the confluence of Cow Creek, known as báasikɔ́hʔɔ́wuh (“big gulch”) by the A'aninin (Gros Ventré) People, and the Missouri River in central Montana. The 365-foot-high dam would have inundated 126 river miles and 94,000 acres of wildlife habitat, storied cultural lands, farms and ranches passed down through generations, and the iconic White Cliffs of the Missouri River Breaks, reaching all the way to Fort Benton, MT.

Montana Governor Tim Babcock (R-MT) opposed construction of the project in 1963, a decision backed by landowners, community members, local tribal nations, and conservation groups in the interest of protecting the river and the local landscapes, livelihoods, and cultural values that have been shaped by it. In the late 1960s the High Cow Creek Dam project was cited as one of the many threats necessitating the creation of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Seven years after the Act was passed, 149 miles of the upper Missouri River were designated as Wild and Scenic to protect it’s free-flowing nature and outstandingly remarkable values.

Section Photo: Canoes beneath the famous white cliffs of the Upper Missouri River

Section Photo by Megan Johnson

The Big Hole River flows for over 150 miles from its origins in the Beaverhead Mountains on the Montana-Idaho border to its confluence with the Beaverhead River to form the headwaters of the Jefferson River. Of the river’s many names, it is known to the Séliš (Salish) people as Sk͏ʷumcné Sewɫk͏ʷs (“waters of the pocket gopher”) and was dubbed “Wisdom River” by the Corps of Discovery. The Big Hole River is the lifeblood of local landscapes and communities, providing critical habitat for species such as Arctic grayling, irrigation for local ranch and farmlands, some of the best trout fishing in the nation, literary inspiration and so much more. 

In the mid-1960s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed a dam project that would have forever changed the river and surrounding landscape. Maps and pamphlets showed the damsite just downstream of Glen and about 17 miles upstream of Twin Bridges. The reservoir, intended to provide for the irrigation needs of Jefferson, Madison, and Broadwater counties, would have inundated over 7,000 acres of land rich in wildlife habitat, cultural history, family roots, and productive soil.

From the outset, the proposal was met with stark opposition from a wide range of local land owners, community members, anglers, conservationists, and elected officials. A 1968 statement from Montana Senator Mike Mansfield (D-MT) overtly opposed the project, stating “The dam and reservoir would inundate approximately 10 miles of the Big Hole River, one of the few remaining Blue Ribbon fishing streams in the country.” Thanks to the collaborative efforts of those who opposed the dam, the proposal was officially defeated in 1967.

Photo: Paddling the Big Hole River

Photo by Jim Klug

The 692-mile-long Yellowstone River rises in the Absaroka Range of northwestern Wyoming. From there the river flows northward through Yellowstone National Park, into Montana’s Paradise Valley, and out onto the great plains where it converges with the Missouri River as the upper Missouri’s principal tributary. The river is known to the Cheyenne people as Mo'éheo'hé'e and to the Apsaalooké (Crow) People as E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay (“Elk River”). The name Yellowstone is believed to have been derived from the Minnetaree word Mi tse a-da-zi, meaning “Yellow Rock River”, which was later translated to Roche Jaune (“Yellow Rock”) by French trappers.

In the mid-1970s, the Allenspur Dam was proposed on the Yellowstone River near Livingston, MT. The 380-foot-high earthen dam was part of Project Independence, an initiative introduced by President Richard Nixon in response to the national energy crisis. The reservoir would have inundated nearly all 35 miles of the Paradise Valley in the interest of providing water for coal development in eastern Montana, which would have been used to convert the nation’s oil power plants to coal. 

Proposed as part of a large national project, the Allenspur Dam was ultimately defeated thanks to a small, grassroots effort that succeeded in gaining national attention. Jim Posewitz, a retired biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and lifelong conservationist, organized a small group of colleagues and community members upon hearing about the proposal. The group conducted research documenting the many species of wildlife and other components of the local ecosystem that depend on the Yellowstone River’s free-flowing nature, which served as the basis of their case against the dam. Among many notable publications, LIFE magazine ran a multi-page photo story about the project in its December 1978 issue, helping to galvanize national support for protecting the river. Today, the Yellowstone River remains the longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States. 

Section Photo: The Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley, Montana

Section Photo by Cole Henson

The construction of dams and our ability to control river flows have fundamentally transformed landscapes and economies in the United States and across the world. Dams have allowed us to generate hydropower, maintain consistent water supplies for people and agriculture, protect communities from floods, and open up navigation waterways deep into the heartland. The damming of rivers across the West made the desert bloom, brought electricity to underserved rural areas, and helped pull our nation out of the Great Depression. Now that nearly a century has passed since we started building large dams in the United States, we have a chance to reflect on the impacts of that development. 

We now know how dams can alter flow regimes and impact entire aquatic ecosystems that depend on natural fluctuations in water levels. We have witnessed dams decimate native fish populations, especially long-distance travelers like salmon and sturgeon, that can no longer migrate to and from their spawning grounds. We’re just beginning to take responsibility for the desecration of sacred lands and cultural sites that now rest at the bottom of reservoirs. We are also coming to terms with the reality that dams have a limited shelf life, beyond which their reservoirs fill with sediment, impacting their ability to produce power, store water and protect downstream communities from droughts and floods. And we’re still learning more.

As with every advancement in human civilization, our history of dam building offers us an opportunity to reflect, learn, and improve for future generations. Our society will likely continue to rely on dams to some extent into the future. However, as we move forward, we must also look back, learn from the lessons of our past, and remind ourselves of what could have been.

While we rely on dams and other types of development for modern society to function, it’s easy to take it too far. Today, dams impound 17 percent, or 600,000 miles, of our nation’s rivers, yet less than one percent of free-flowing rivers have been protected as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 

The Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies are currently considered areas of significant potential for dam building in the name of clean energy and water security. Just in the last few decades, two different dam projects were proposed on East Rosebud Creek, a small yet powerful stream which flows north out of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness near Red Lodge, MT. Tired of battling these proposals, a small group of landowners in the East Rosebud Valley came together with an idea: rather than focus on fighting the dams, why not advocate for permanent protection of the river instead? With the support of groups like American Rivers and others, 20 miles of East Rosebud Creek were permanently protected through Wild and Scenic designation in August 2018, making it Montana’s fifth Wild and Scenic River.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is our nation’s most powerful tool for permanently protecting rivers in their clean, free-flowing state. The story of East Rosebud Creek is a reminder that dam building is not just a thing of the past and that we can, and must, come together to protect free-flowing rivers moving forward.  

As our friend Hugo Tureck says, “You can only dam so many rivers before there’s nothing left to dam, and then what?” 

The good news is we still have a chance to protect some of the nation’s most vital and cherished free-flowing rivers, and the time to do so is now. With careful forethought and public support, we can continue building our legacy of river protection.

Here in Montana, we’re carrying that legacy forward through our work to pass the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act. First introduced in Congress in November 2020 by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act will designate 17 new stream segments as Wild and Scenic, protecting some of the most pristine headwaters of the upper Missouri and Yellowstone river ecosystems. Included in these designations are well-loved and iconic rivers such as the Gallatin, Madison, Yellowstone and Smith. 

We’ve come a long way, but our work depends on the dedication of river-lovers like you. To learn more about this legislation and how you can get involved, visit the  Montanans for Healthy Rivers website .

We hope this StoryMap serves as a reminder that we must always strive to strike a balance between thoughtful development and the conservation of important places. Rivers feed the landscapes we are a part of and those landscapes support our communities. Let’s protect the places that shape us.

Section Photo: East Rosebud Creek, Montana

Section Photo by Jim Klug