Environmental Stewardship of the Missouri and Madison River Corridor

PPL Montana has eight hydroelectric projects and one reservoir along the Missouri and Madison Rivers covered under its Project 2188 operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Through this license, PPL Montana works with state and federal agencies and private groups to implement a diverse array of environmental stewardship projects to protect habitats on or near the banks of the Missouri and Madison Rivers.

Project 2188 partners have secured $42 million for the restoration of up to 26,000 acres of riverside and wetland habitats on private lands within this river corridor. In addition, PPL Montana has contributed more than $10 million for the development of 32 recreation projects along the Missouri-Madison River corridor encompassing six PPL Montana reservoirs — Hebgen, Madison, Hauser, Holter, Black Eagle and Rainbow.  The company consulted with agencies and the public to design and build these projects under its federal license agreement.

The money that has accumulated from federal, state and private cost sharing on the 32 recreation projects to date has been used to build a $6.7 million trust fund for public recreation along the Madison and Missouri Rivers. This River Fund now supports ongoing maintenance of existing projects and the development of new qualifying projects in an area extending from Hebgen Reservoir downstream to Fort Benton, excluding the Toston and Canyon Ferry hydroelectric projects and the river segment between them.

The fund is administered through the collaborative efforts of PPL Montana; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; U.S. Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; Madison, Gallatin, Broadwater, Lewis & Clark, Cascade and Chouteau Counties; and numerous other public and private partners.