The Sun River Watershed located in north central Montana encompasses 1,408,000 acres in Cascade, Lewis & Clark, and Teton counties. The resource problems and concerns in the project area include: high sediment loads to the Sun and Missouri Rivers; degraded water quality, water quantity issues relating to low irrigation delivery systems and on-farm efficiencies; insufficient instream flows; degraded grass land resource from improper management; and degraded fisheries. The goals established for the Sun River Watershed include: 1) decrease streambank erosion by 75%; 2) reduce sediment load in streams by 40% 3) reduce saline acres by 50%; 5) improve on irrigation efficiency by 25%; 6) reduce irrigation return flows by 20%; 7) improve rangeland condition, plant health and carrying capacity by 20%; 8) reduce spread of noxious weeds by 50%; and 9) improve overall fisheries condition by 25%.
