County, partners look to restore Marshall Creek above public park
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) An old culvert linked to the former Marshall Mountain ski area has long disrupted the flow of Marshall Creek, which holds a strain of genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout.
The park doesn't need the culvert anymore, and neither do the fish.
Missoula County in partnership with Trout Unlimited entered into an agreement this week to remove the culvert and restore the stretch of Marshall Creek. It's the first phase of work planned to address barriers in the creek's upper reaches.
“With the park coming under county ownership, we now have the opportunity here in the upper reaches of Marshall Creek to address some of the barriers that exist,” said Jackson Lee, the county's parks and trails specialist. “It's a modest first phase, but it sets us up well for what comes next.”
The city and county of Missoula took ownership of Marshall Mountain Park in 2024. Part of the park's master plan detailed the mountain's vast recreation opportunities. But it also outlined habitat and other conservation needs.
Rob Roberts with Trout Unlimited said the opportunity to restore Marshall Creek through the park – and eventually the upper reaches – marked a rare opportunity to improve the tributary's prized fishery.
This might be one of those rare opportunities for a watershed where you fix the fisheries problem in the long term,” he said. “But this isn't by far the first thing to happen in Marshall Creek.”
Trout Unlimited and other partners, including Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, have for years been working to improve the lower stretch of Marshall Creek. Past work has removed culverts, covered an irrigation ditch with a screen and installed a fish ladder near the creek's confluence with the Clark Fork River.
But an old retention pond near the former ski area once used to make snow still separates the creek's lower stretch from the upper stretch. Above the pond is home to 100% pure westslope cutthroat trout while the stretch below is home to migratory fish that use the run for spawning.
“If you're in the fisheries world, that's pretty rare when that happens,” said Roberts. “Everything below the pond to the mouth is migratory fish using that for spawning and rivering. Everything above that is refuge for native fish. We're trying to fix everything from the pond upstream. That means allowing fish to move upstream and downstream and improving habitat all through there.”
But even after the restoration work, it's likely the pond will remain.
“In the long term, there'll be no barriers at all on Marshall Creek except for this pond, which separates the non-native fish from the native fish,” said Roberts. “We'd improve all the habitat and take care of all the issues that could affect fisheries upstream and down.”
Missoula County has pledged $4,500 toward the culvert project, which could begin this summer. In the future, the county may look to address access to the mountain and further open the creek's flow.
“The future plan is to deal with the two access points that go to the park itself,” said Lee. “Ideally, we'd convert those culverts to bridges to provide better flow.”