Trout Unlimited’s state director, and Nathan Cook, an environmental scientist with NRDP, talked about the importance of Blacktail Creek as a spawning stream for westslope cutthroat trout.

The high streams to the north spawn bull trout, while the lower waters of the southern hills produce most of the Blackfoot’s westslope cutthroat trout. Both fish are native to the area and have ...

It’s a gamble, in a sense, because the reservoir is Butte’s most valuable source of drinking water — so much so, the county invested $30 million in a state-of-the-art plant a few miles away ...