Success of McLay Fish Screen

Thanks to the Clark Fork Coalition’s installation of the Lolo-Maclay fish screen in the fall of 2020 there are 10,000+ more trout swimming in Lolo Creek at the end of this year’s irrigation season. The screen operated as designed, sending fish free water to the ranchers crops while the fish stayed where  they belong, in the creek. This is a big boost to the fishery and will improve trout numbers in the creek and Lower Bitterroot river in the years to come.

A huge thanks to all the partners who made this project possible including the WestSlope and Bitterroot Chapters of Trout Unlimited, USFWS, Montana FWP, MWCC and many private foundations and funders. The Lolo Watershed Group completed a project to revegetate the site this fall. Keep tuned for more fisheries improvements on Lolo Creek as CFC works with WSCTU and our other partners to increase fish habitat and passage in the upper watershed while securing more instream flow on the mainstem.