CONSERVATION LANDS PLANTING EVENT

Where: Rattlesnake Dam Removal Project

When: Tuesday, September 21; 5 to 7 pm

What: Help plant native grasses, forbs and shrubs!

How: For more information and to volunteer, contact Clancy Jandreau

Project Background

The Rattlesnake Dam mitigation and restoration project will remove the dam and reestablish a natural river connection between the Rattlesnake Wilderness at the headwaters and the Clark Fork River for the first time in more than 100 years. The project will take place through the summer and fall of 2020 and result in removal of all manmade structures, 1,000 feet of stream channel restoration, and 5 acres of wetland and floodplain creation.

To tackle a project this large, the City and Missoula Water formed a partnership with external organizations, such as Trout Unlimited, the Watershed Education Network, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The partners have collaborated since 2017 to prepare the dam for its removal, and the public-private partnership successfully applied for several grants, receiving substantial funding from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grand and Loan Program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and the Open Rivers Fund, a program of the Resources Legacy Fund supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

For more information visit: https://www.engagemissoula.com/rattlesnake-reservoir-restoration