Sun River Watershed

Sun River Watershed Group, in Partnership With Greenfields Irrigation District, Will Restore the Flow Regime and Channel in a 3-MILE Stretch of Muddy Creek, a Tributary to the Sun River in Central Montana, to Improve Water Quality, Enhance Fish and Wildlife Habitats, and Restore Hydrologic Processes. Historic Irrigation Practices and Unnatural High Streamflow Events Due to Irrigation Returns Have Damaged Stream Banks, Resulting in Massive Erosion That Contributes Sediment and Nutrients Into the Creek. the Project Will Expand the Capacity of an Existing Re-regulation Reservoir to Restore Hydrologic Processes to the Creek by Allowing for Attenuation and More Efficient Management of the Excess Irrigation Water and Conserve Up to 8,000 Acre-feet of Water Annually. Project Partners Will Also Restore the Stream Channel With Riffle Grade Control, Floodplain Expansion, and Low-impact Bank Treatments. These Restoration Activities Will Reduce Erosion, Improve Water Quality, Enhance Riparian and Aquatic Habitat, Restore Vegetation, and Reconnect Floodplains, Restoring Hydrologic Processes and Habitat. These Combined Projects Were Identified as the Top Priorities in a Master Plan for Muddy Creek, Developed Under a 2020 Watersmart Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase 1 Grant, Supported by Diverse Stakeholders.