Big Blackfoot Chapter Of Trout Unlimited Inc.

Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited Inc. is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Seeley Lake, Montana, that has been registered to receive federal awards since 2007. The organization specializes in collaborative habitat restoration and conservation efforts within the Blackfoot River watershed region of western Montana. Through its federal grant awards, the organization provides comprehensive ecosystem restoration services focused on improving stream habitat, riparian corridors, and water quality conditions to support sensitive fish species and broader watershed health objectives.

The organization has received six cooperative agreements and project grants totaling over $1 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service. Its work encompasses fish passage restoration through dam removal and culvert replacement projects, instream flow improvements through irrigation system upgrades and water leasing arrangements, riparian and floodplain restoration, road decommissioning, grazing management modifications, and comprehensive habitat assessments. Specific projects include the Clearwater Dam removal, Poorman Creek culvert replacement with aquatic organism passage structures, Cottonwood Creek fish passage assessment and restoration, and Nevada Creek restoration initiatives. The organization collaborates extensively with federal agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6, Montana-Dakotas Region BLM, Forest Service Northern Region, as well as state partners such as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and numerous private landowners and agricultural producers. These initiatives collectively address priority recovery actions for threatened bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout while simultaneously supporting local agricultural stability and community economic resilience in the face of climate change impacts.