Declining trout population in southwest Montana prompts research and advocacy push

Marked declines in trout populations across several of Montana’s iconic fisheries have led a group of anglers, fishing guides and community members to launch a “Save Wild Trout” initiative in hopes of better understanding the cause of those declines.

Wade Fellin, co-owner of Big Hole Lodge, announced the launch of the privately funded effort on June 22. Save Wild Trout seeks to develop science-based solutions to the problem, which Fellin described as an “ecological emergency” affecting salmonid species in the Big Hole, Ruby, Beaverhead and Jefferson rivers.

“We are near or at historic lows thr...