How Montana trout went wild

Back in the 1970s, many of Montana’s great rivers such as the Madison and Clark Fork were in decline, after decades of pollution, damming and drying up streams. Today, Montana’s trout fishing is world class. Partly that’s because back in the 1970s, Montana biologist Dick Vincent found that stocking hatchery-reared fish—the common practice at the time—hurt the wild trout populations and suppressed overall fishing opportunities. Based on his studies, the state of Montana implemented a “wild trout policy” that shifted the focus from raising hatchery fish to improving habitat and flows in Montana’s rivers to give wild trout a chance to flourish.

A great new video—“Wild Trout: A Montana Fish Story”—tells the story of how Montana’s visionary fish and game biologists, working with Trout Unlimited and other partners, restored wild trout and Montana’s rivers to their former glory.

As told in “Wild Trout,” that focus on healthy habitat and wild fish has paid huge dividends to Montana’s booming outdoor economy—as well as ranching and diverse other interests that depend on healthy waters. As rancher Jeff Lazlo notes in the film, “When your ecosystem is healthy, everything thrives—and that is particularly important for wild trout.”

Check out the video: