The Crooked Creek Project

The barrier is crucial to the survival of these imperiled fish because possible infiltration by other species of trout which inhabit the lower stretches of the creek below. Brown Trout often out-compete and prey on Cutthroats for available habitat and Rainbow Trout can interbreed with Cutthroats, which dilutes the gene pool and thereby destroys the purity of the fish.

Without protection from these non-native species, this population of native, pure Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout is expected to diminish rapidly and ultimately be replaced by the nonnative aggressors.

The local chapter of Trout Unlimited and Magic City Fly Fishers of Billings, MT, teamed up with the various government agencies and in August of 2006 to build a temporary fish barrier or gabion. Using stones and wire mesh, this was successfully accomplished in a location several miles further downstream from the original natural rock barrier.

This downstream location was chosen to give the Cutthroats additional area and habitat to live and thrive. In October of 2007, the final and permanent concrete fish barrier was successfully built to replace the temporary one. Additional work still needs to be accomplished to restore riparian habitat altered during construction of the migration barrier and plans are being made for some re-vegetation projects near the project site