Company Meets with State and Federal Agencies to Discuss Drought’s Impact on Fisheries, Recreation

In response to the prolonged drought in the West Yellowstone region, PPL Montana, together with state fish and wildlife officials, are closely monitoring the water level in Hebgen Lake with a focus on mitigating the drought’s effects on the Madison River.

“We and everyone else in this region are at the mercy of nature and are feeling the effects of this prolonged dry spell on the levels at Hebgen Lake and in the Madison River,” David Hoffman, director of external affairs for PPL Montana, said after a meeting Thursday (6/21) with federal and state wildlife and conservation agencies in Bozeman.

“We are sensitive to the concerns of our neighbors, boaters, anglers and river guides on Hebgen Lake and the Madison River, and we recognize the effect lower lake levels have on them,” Hoffman said. “While the drought persists, it’s our intent to work with agency experts to minimize the effects on lake and river levels this season in order to meet several important needs.”

PPL Montana also will be asking the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses Hebgen Lake, for permission to drop lake levels below recreational levels this summer if necessary to protect the valuable fish habitat downstream.

“We hope this action will not be needed, but we feel it’s appropriate to plan now to protect habitat in the Madison River,” Hoffman said.

Bruce Rich, Region 3 fisheries manager with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the drought has been tough on water resources and recreation throughout southwestern Montana, but this is the first time that water supplies have gotten this critical in decades.

“We are hopeful that anything that can be learned from this year will be utilized in the future to minimize situations like we are currently facing,” Rich said. “We are working as closely as possible with PPL Montana folks in the best interest of the health of the entire Madison River system.”

“The main thing we learned in our meeting is that only more precipitation will improve the situation,” Hoffman said. “Throughout the summer, we will communicate with lakeshore property owners, anglers and river outfitters, along with others who come to the river and lake, to keep everyone updated on the drought’s impact on water levels.”

Contributing to the situation at Hebgen has been a light snowpack and no significant rainfall this spring.

The forecasted water flow into Hebgen Lake in May and June decreased by an amount equal to about 4 feet of storage in the reservoir. PPL Montana has been able to fill Hebgen Lake within 2.5 feet from full.

Although precipitation this spring has been high in some areas, the upper Madison drainage area above Hebgen has not received enough precipitation to produce normal flows.

“PPL Montana is balancing a variety of interests in operating Hebgen Lake,” Hoffman said. “Right now we are holding back water to increase our efforts to maintain a minimum flow in the lower Madison River and to help protect fishing resources during the hot summer.”

Under the terms of its operating license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, PPL Montana plans to release water periodically from the Hebgen storage reservoir this summer to maintain healthy water temperatures to support fish habitat in the Madison River.

The company is required to maintain a minimum level in the lake for recreation and to release water to maintain minimum river flows for trout. So far, PPL Montana is meeting all requirements for lake level and water releases and continues to evaluate this balance based on unknown variables such as summer weather, inflows and other factors.

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).