![BigHoleRiverHeadwaters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/BigHoleRiverHeadwaters.jpg)
The Big Hole River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Jefferson River
The Jefferson River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Montana. The Jefferson River and the Madison River form the official beginning of the Missouri at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three F ...
, approximately
153 miles (246 km) long, in
Beaverhead County
Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865.
Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental Di ...
, in southwestern
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, United States. It is the last habitat in the contiguous United States for native
fluvial Arctic grayling
The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Mis ...
and is a historically popular destination for
fly fishing, especially for
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
.
History
At the time the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
traveled through the Big Hole River watershed, it was a buffer zone between several rival Native American tribes including the
Nez Percé,
Shoshone,
Coast Salish
The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...
, and
Blackfeet
The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Mon ...
. Lewis and Clark considered navigating up the Big Hole River, but chose the slower-flowing
Beaverhead River
The Beaverhead River is an approximately tributary of the Jefferson River in southwest Montana (east of the Continental Divide). It drains an area of roughly . The river's original headwaters, formed by the confluence of the Red Rock River and H ...
instead. Trappers from both the Hudson's Bay Company, the North West Company and the American Fur Company exploited the region from about 1810 to the 1840s. Miners and homesteaders settled the area between 1864 and the early 1900s. The
Montana Salish
The Salish or Séliš language , also known as Kalispel–Pend d'oreille, Kalispel–Spokane–Flathead, or Montana Salish to distinguish it from other Salishan languages, is a Salishan language spoken (as of 2005) by about 64 elders of the Fla ...
called the river ''Sk͏ʷumcné Sewɫk͏ʷs'', meaning "waters of the pocket gopher".
In 1877 the U.S. troops under
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...
fought the Nez Percé Indians along the Big Hole River, during the
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...
in the
Battle of the Big Hole
The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Nez Perce withd ...
. The site of the battle along the North fork of the Big Hole is preserved as the
Big Hole National Battlefield
Big Hole National Battlefield preserves a battlefield in the western United States, located in Beaverhead County, Montana. In 1877, the Nez Perce fought a delaying action against the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Regiment here on August 9 and 10, duri ...
.
The establishment of
Butte, Montana as a mining center and the coming of the Northern Railroad in 1871 assured Big Hole ranchers and farmers of a steady market for their beef, horses, mules, hay and dairy products. Ranches grew along the river from railroad supply points such as
Divide, Montana. As a great improvement for preserving the wild hay for winter feeding of cattle, Herbert S. Armitage and David J. Stephens filed for a "Hay-Stacker" patent in 1909, which was awarded in 1910. This device, commonly known as a "
beaverslide" remained popular until the 1990s, when it was largely displaced by mechanized equipment for producing large round bales.
[
][
][
]
Watershed and course
The Big Hole River watershed drains .
The source of the mainstem Big Hole River is
Skinner Lake in the
Beaverhead National Forest
Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865.
Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental Di ...
in the
Beaverhead Mountains
The Beaverhead Mountains, highest point Scott Peak, el. , are a mountain range straddling the Continental Divide in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho. (See also the GNIS link here.) They are a sub-range of the Bitterroot Range, and divide Be ...
of the
Bitterroot Range
The Bitterroot Range is a mountain range and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States. The range spans an area of and is named after the bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva' ...
at the
Continental Divide along the Montana-
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
border in western
Beaverhead County
Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865.
Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental Di ...
. However, Skinner Lake is in turn fed by Darkhorse Creek, which flows from Darkhorse and Cowbone Lakes, the former at . The Big Hole River flows northwest and north, past
Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...
and between the
Anaconda Range
The Anaconda Range, informally known as the "Pintlers", is a group of high mountains located in southwestern Montana, in the northwestern United States. The mountain range takes its name from the nearby town of Anaconda, founded by Marcus Daly ...
to the northwest and the
Pioneer Mountains to the east.
It flows around the north end of the Pioneers where it forms the border between Beaverhead County and
Deer Lodge County and then
Silver Bow County
Silver Bow County is a county in the U.S. state Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,133. Its county seat is Butte. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the single entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Additional ...
, then southeast past the town of Wise River, Montana, where it is joined by the
Wise River. Near Glen, Montana it turns northeast and joins the
Beaverhead River
The Beaverhead River is an approximately tributary of the Jefferson River in southwest Montana (east of the Continental Divide). It drains an area of roughly . The river's original headwaters, formed by the confluence of the Red Rock River and H ...
near
Twin Bridges
Twin bridges are a set of two bridges running parallel to each other. A pair of twin bridges is often referred to collectively as a twin-span or dual-span bridge. Twin bridges are independent structures and each bridge has its own superstructur ...
to form the Jefferson.
Ecology and conservation
Historic conflicts exist between ranchers in the valley who use the river for irrigation and recreationalists. In the early 1960s, the US Bureau of Reclamation proposed building the Reichle Dam near the town of
Glen along the Big Hole River. Conservationist
George F. Grant,
Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. T ...
and local ranchers combined forces to oppose the dam, successfully defeating the proposal in 1967.
Grayling
The Big Hole is the last habitat in the
contiguous United States for native
fluvial (river-dwelling)
Arctic grayling
The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Mis ...
(''Thymallis arcticus''). Fluvial Arctic grayling lived historically in the United States only in
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and the upper Missouri River above
Great Falls, Montana.
Adfluvial or lake-dwelling Arctic grayling, still thrive across the western half of Montana. The fluvial population comprises the Upper Missouri River
distinct population segment {{no footnotes, date=February 2018
A distinct population segment (DPS) is the smallest division of a taxonomic species permitted to be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. ''Species'', as defined in the Act for listing purposes, is a ...
(DPS) population. The two populations are commonly called Montana Arctic grayling.
[ The Big Hole River Watershed Committee (BHWC) was formed in 1995 by several Big Hole ranchers and some factions of the conservation community who opposed an ESA listing for fluvial Arctic grayling. The Watershed Committee reached out to local and selected interested entities and developed a viable community-based consensus group to forge solutions to difficult problems that impact the river. The committee was criticized for exclusion of activist voices such as the ]Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...
and the Montana Wildlife Federation. In response, organizations such as the Big Hole River Foundation were formed, with the goal "to understand, preserve, and enhance the free flowing character of the Big Hole River and to protect its watershed, culture, community and excellent wild trout fishery."
After years of debate by all interests in the Big Hole watershed, in April 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
(USFWS) removed the fluvial Arctic Grayling from Endangered Species candidacy, which has resulted in a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and other interested parties, who have stated the view that the USFWS decision was politically mandated by Julie MacDonald, the former Department of Interior official who has since resigned. An Office of the Inspector General investigation found that "MacDonald has been heavily involved with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species Program's scientific reports." In the case of grayling, MacDonald ignored clear genetic differences between extremely rare fluvial (river) grayling and relatively common lacustrine (lake) grayling. In 2014, The USFWS again affirmed that local conservation efforts are sufficient to protect the grayling, and declined to list the DPS of the grayling as federally endangered.[
An environmental DNA assay using tissue samples from grayling in the Bighole River can identify grayling with high specificity against other native and non-native salmonids in Montana.
]
Angling the Big Hole
The Big Hole river has been a destination for trout fisherman since the late 1880s when ''The Angler's Guide'', an Eastern angling journal advertised the Big Hole as a national destination fishery for grayling and trout while promising daily catches. Although the river still holds some native westslope cutthroat trout
The westslope cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi''), also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'') and is a freshwater fish in t ...
, their populations are almost non-existent. Instead, the river holds healthy wild populations of brook
A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to:
Computing
*Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C
*Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler
*BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...
, rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
and brown trout which were first introduced into the Big Hole in late 1880s as hatchery operations began in Butte and Bozeman, Montana. Native mountain whitefish
The mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni'') is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territories, Canada south through western Canada and ...
are also prevalent in the river. In the 1980s, the state of Montana began stopping general stocking of all Montana rivers. The last hatchery fish were stocked in the Big Hole in 1990. Dozens of guides, outfitters and fishing lodges offer guided fishing on the Big Hole and its tributaries. The river is catch and release for brown trout (Dickey bridge to mouth)
The river is a Class I water from the Fishtrap fishing access site downstream from Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...
to its confluence with the Jefferson River. This status affects the level of public access for recreational purposes.Stream Access in Montana
See also
* Pat Munday
* List of rivers of Montana
The following is a partial list of rivers of Montana (U.S. state).
East of Continental Divide
Water in these rivers flows east and south from the Continental Divide of the Americas, also known as the Great Divide, into the Gulf of Mexico via t ...
* Montana Stream Access Law
The Montana Stream Access Law says that anglers, floaters and other recreationists in Montana have full use of most natural waterways between the high-water marks for fishing and floating, along with swimming and other river or stream-related ac ...
Notes
References
*
* Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (1995). "Measuring Devices on the Big Hole River" (Helena, Montana: Department of Natural Resources & Conservation).
*
*
* Ted Williams, "Who Needs Grayling?" ''Fly Rod & Reel'' (November/December 2007): 18–24.
*
External links
Big Hole River Watershed
EcoRover blog about the Big Hole River watershed
Pat Munday's rating of Big Hole Watershed Committee effectiveness in Big Hole River grayling restoration
Big Hole Watershed Committee
Big Hole River Foundation
{{authority control
Rivers of Montana
Rivers of Beaverhead County, Montana
Bodies of water of Madison County, Montana