Yellowstone Times

Researchers at Montana State University are fishing for a solution that will benefit both grayling, the state's most iconic fish, and agricultural producers who rely on water from the grayling's habitat.

An artificial waterway at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Fish Technology Center will allow the MSU team to evaluate and refine the design of structures that help grayling and other species navigate irrigation structures that otherwise impede their seasonal movements. The facility consists of a concrete trough with windows that reveal the fish inside along with pumps and other equipment that allow for control of the water temperature and flow.

MSU researchers are testing whether grayling can use Denil fishways that work during low water levels. Because of warming waters, degraded habitats and other factors, less than 5% of grayling's native range is inhabited. More than 60 fishways have been installed in the Big Hole River watershed. This has helped stop limitations of irrigation withdrawals.

The MSU team is redesigning the fishways to use less water while still being wide and strong enough for fish to navigate through. 

"We want to find solutions that benefit not only the fish but the irrigators who use the river, and this study is exploring how to do that," Matt Blank, a member of the study team and a research scientist at MSU's Western Transportation Institute, said according to Montana State University News. The results so far have been promising.