Our History

History of the River

Although the remoteness and harsh winters of the Big Hole Valley have deterred substantial growth and development, humans have still drastically altered the landscape of the valley.

Historically, the Big Hole valley served as an important trade route and foraging area for Native Americans; but due to the harsh winters, year-round habituation did not occur until European-American settlement. Trappers were among the first European-Americans in the area in the early 19th century. Abundant beavers and a thriving national and international fur trade brought trappers to the valley. However, extensive trapping lead to the near extirpation of beavers in the area and the fur trapping was in decline by the 1840s. The fluvial geomorphology of the valley is expected to have been drastically altered by the removal of beavers. The removal of beaver dams likely contributed to faster flows, increased erosion, incision and simplification of the stream channel, decreased retention of sediment, decreased riparian cover, decreased floodplain connectivity, lowered groundwater tables and summer base flow, and loss of habitat diversity.

Discovery of gold in the inter-mountain West in 1862 brought a new wave of European-Americans to the area. Compared to other areas in the region, relatively little mining occurred in the Big Hole watershed with most mining occurring in the 1860s to 1890 and the 1930s to 1940s. However, legacy mines have contributed to sediment and metal impairments in the watershed. Potential molybdenum mining and oil and gas extraction may pose threats to the watershed in the future. Agriculture quickly followed mining and provided a means to support the mining boom towns in the area. The high quality of hay in the Big Hole valley quickly led to agriculture and ranching becoming the dominant industry, which remains true to this day. While the US Forest Service is the dominant land owner in the watershed, the vast majority of the land in the valley bottom is privately owned by a small number of large ranches. The Big Hole is renown as a world class trout fishery, which supports numerous outfitters and guides and also brings significant tourism dollars to the area.

Given the importance of the Big Hole to multiple stakeholders and species of concern, significant research, monitoring, and restoration work has occurred. Agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, US Geological Survey, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Mines and Geology, state universities, the National Park Service, and nonprofit organizations such as the Big Hole Watershed Committee and the Big Hole River Foundation have contributed significant resources to better manage, understand, and conserve this precious resource.