Bighorn River Alliance

Home
United States
Billings, MT
Bighorn River Alliance

The Bighorn River Alliance is a non-profit organization that works to protect Montana's Bighorn River Numbers matter in conservation.

Montana's Bighorn River is the largest tributary to the free-flowing Yellowstone River and contains both a blue ribbon trout fishery located within the Crow Tribal reservation boundaries, and a warm water fishery downstream from the city of Hardin. Conservation challenges of the river are complicated with the path of the river which flows through two states, a sovereign nation and a national recreational area, and scientific monitoring and research on the system are limited. The Bighorn River Alliance recognizes that the Bighorn River is one of the least monitored river systems in the state of Montana, and works to fill that void through scientific investigations, monitoring and enhancement projects that benefit the fisheries and the river ecosystem. From long term monitoring projects pertaining to aquatic insects and water quality, flow management negotiations and advocacy, side channel reconnection projects and intensive mapping, BHRA is taking the lead in collecting data that will aid in the protection and enhancement of the River. If you fish the Bighorn River, please consider giving back to the resource by becoming a member of the Bighorn River Alliance (BHRA).

10/20/2026

Restoration is only the beginning.

Today we were back at the African Queen Side Channel completing an “as-built” survey following our recent restoration work.

Think of this as Time Zero.

By documenting the channel’s shape, depth, elevations and flow now, we establish a baseline that allows us to measure how African Queen changes over time. Is sediment accumulating? Is the channel maintaining its shape? Is it continuing to carry water? Is the restored habitat functioning as intended?

Without this baseline, we’d be guessing. With it, we can measure change.

Good restoration builds habitat. Good monitoring tells us whether it lasts.

Your support & partnerships with great groups like the Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation allow BHRA to do both - put restoration on the ground and then stay with these projects for the long term.

10/05/2026

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will conduct their annual population estimate surveys on the lower section of the Bighorn wild trout fishery early in October, as part of their annual commitment to monitoring the health of the wild trout fishery. The agency will perform their marking run on October 5, 6 and 7, and follow up with their recapture run on the 19th, 20th and 21st.

10/01/2026

Flows, Fish & Grant Funding!

We spent the day at the BHRA office with our partners from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, talking all things Bighorn River. The regional manager, fishery biologist, and the Future Fisheries coordinator from Helena joined us for important conversations around river flows, the fishery, ongoing conservation projects and potential future grant funding opportunities.

Partnerships like these help turn ideas into meaningful work for the health of the river - but that work also depends on people who care about the Bighorn. Like you. Thank you for helping us protect the mighty Bighorn and its wild trout. ❤️

09/29/2026

The Two Leggins FAS boat ramp repair is finally completed! Credit to the Region 5 FWP maintenance staff, the contractor and others for getting these repairs to the finish line!

09/17/2026

Congratulation to the winners of the BHRA 2026 Member Raffle! First Place: Gregory Waterfall, Second Place: J. Ryan Stefek, and Third Place: Jim Holland - Thank you to all that supported this raffle and a big shout out to the sponsors, we couldn't do it without you! Simms Fishing Products, Sage Fly Fishing, Patagonia

09/10/2026

Contractor Dave Stagliano from Montana Biological Survey knocking out our early Fall macroinvertebrates sampling at established sites on the Bighorn River this week! Dave is a well-renowned aquatic insect expert, and his data 📈 has been pretty spot on when assessing future hatches. We are lucky to have his expertise on the river, along with his bravery in sampling near grass fires 🔥!

09/08/2026

🌊Flow update!
There is more water available in the system than planners previously expected, both because August wasn’t as dry as forecasted and because Boysen is now scheduled to release more water this winter (400 cfs as opposed to 300 cfs). Therefore, Bighorn River flows will increase from 1,500 to 1,680 cfs this Thursday @ 4:00 pm.

09/03/2026

Bighorn River Flow Update

If you noticed a sudden increase in flows — and quite a bit of floating vegetation — on the Bighorn today, here’s what happened.

BHRA spoke with USBR this afternoon. A large tree, root wad and all, had recently blown into the Afterbay and became lodged against the upstream side of one of Afterbay dams radial gates. Because it was important to remove the tree, dam operators temporarily opened the gate approximately three feet to flush it through.

That operation caused a brief increase in river flows to approximately 1,980 cfs. The temporary surge also helps explain the increase in algae and other vegetation moving downstream that many people observed today.

The tree has since been successfully removed from the river.

The good news is that the sluice gates are also on schedule to be back in service by tomorrow afternoon. Once they are operational, Afterbay Reservoir should be able to return to normal operations, resulting in more stable flows on the Bighorn.

Thank you to everyone who called or reached out today. We appreciate how closely our community keeps an eye on the river, and we’ll continue sharing updates when we learn more.

08/29/2026

Any guesses on #1? Link in comments!

08/28/2026

A side channel restored. A setback we didn’t expect. And a second chance for more than half a mile of wild-trout habitat.

BHRA originally reactivated the 2,760-foot African Queen side channel in 2023, restoring flow to a diverse stretch of pools, runs, and riffles along the Bighorn River.

For nearly two years, it worked as intended. Then, in the summer of 2025, a severe flood in the Soap Creek watershed deposited sediment and debris near the channel entrance, dramatically reducing the amount of water reaching African Queen.

With support from the Yellow Dog Community & Conservation Foundation, BHRA returned this August to restore the channel’s function. Crews removed accumulated debris, narrowed and deepened the entrance, and improved riffles to help African Queen capture and carry water more effectively.

The response was immediate.

By the end of construction on August 5, more than 70 cfs was flowing through African Queen—even with the Bighorn River running at only about 1,500 cfs.

That means more than half a mile of side-channel habitat is once again connected to the Bighorn, providing pools, runs, riffles, and important habitat for wild trout.

Restoration doesn’t always end when construction is finished. Rivers change, and sometimes protecting an investment means returning, adapting, and improving.

We are incredibly grateful to the Yellow Dog Community & Conservation Foundation for its $10,000 grant and its partnership in protecting and improving the Bighorn River.

Address

Billings, MT

Telephone

+14065342915

Website

http://bighornriveralliance.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bighorn River Alliance posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Bighorn River Alliance:

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in Billings?