Kicking Horse Dam () is a dam in

Lake County, Montana Lake County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,134. Its county seat is Polson. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total a ...

. The earthen dam was constructed in 1930 by the

United States Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

, with a height of and long at its crest. It impounds Dublin Gulch for irrigation and recreation. The dam is owned and operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, while recreation is regulated by the tribal government and the

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) is a government agency in the executive branch state of Montana in the United States with responsibility for protecting sustainable fish, wildlife, and state-owned park resources in Montan ...

. The dam is surrounded by the territory of the

Flathead Indian Reservation The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. The ...

(known as the Tribal Trust Lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), is adjacent to the town of

Kicking Horse, Montana Kicking Horse is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census, up from 80 in 2000. Geography Kicking Horse is located in south-central Lake County at (47.461892, -114.084475) ...

(population 80) and adjacent to the

Mission Mountains Wilderness The Mission Mountains Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1975, the wilderness is within the Swan Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorize ...

. The reservoir it creates, Kicking Horse Reservoir, has a normal water surface of , and a maximum capacity of .Rock Reef Reservoir Benton Lake Area
/ref> Recreation includes fishing and bird hunting, subject to tribal regulations.

In popular culture

American poet

Richard Hugo Richard Hugo (December 21, 1923 – October 22, 1982), born Richard Franklin Hogan, was an American poet. Although some critics regard Hugo as primarily a regionalist, his work resonates broadly across place and time. A portion of Hugo's work re ...

references the dam and the adjacent town in his 1973 poem "The Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir".

References

{{Authority control Dams in Montana Reservoirs in Montana United States Bureau of Indian Affairs dams Buildings and structures in Lake County, Montana Dams completed in 1930 Landforms of Lake County, Montana Native American history of Montana