Gallatin River Restoration

Park Boundary to Covered Wagon

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Status

Complete

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Location

Five restoration sites within the Custer Gallatin National Forest between Yellowstone National Park and Taylor Fork.

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Cost

Construction Cost: $360,000

This figure does not include planning, design, permitting, coordination, or project management.

Project Results

The Park Boundary to Covered Wagon Restoration Project is complete. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and partners, five priority restoration sites now provide healthier streamside habitat, improved water quality protection, and sustainable public access designed to reduce impacts on the Gallatin River.

Project Highlights:

5 priority restoration sites completed
9 acres of river corridor restored
Recreation impacts reduced through sustainable site design
Water quality protected through stormwater managment
Native revegetation underway to restore streamside habitat
Long-term monitoring and maintenance underway

Park Boundary Restoration Site

Upper Sage Creek Restoration Site

Lower Sage Creek Restoration Site

Taylor Fork Creek Restoration Site

Covered Wagon Restoration Site

How This Project Benefits the Gallatin River

Protects Clean Water

Healthier banks naturally filter pollutants, providing cleaner water for our community and wildlife.

Restores Thriving Habitats

Revitalized habitats will support flourishing populations of our native fish, birds, and diverse wildlife.

Builds River Resilience

A healthier river system will better withstand climate challenges like drought, flooding, and wildfire.

Provides Sustainable Recreation Access

Designated parking areas will ensure that visitors can enjoy the river without causing further damage.

Creates a Lasting Legacy

This project’s 50 to 100-year estimated lifespan ensures enduring benefits for our river and community.

Why restoration?

If you’ve fished, floated, or even just glimpsed it from your car window, you know that the Gallatin River is special. It’s the vital lifeline that defines southwest Montana, sustaining our wildlife, supporting the recreational activities we Montanans love, and representing the very essence of our home. A healthy river is a reflection of a healthy watershed and aquifer, the systems our community relies on for clean water. But the Gallatin faces challenges—from unmanaged access to climate change.

Our Gallatin River Restoration Strategy identifies and prioritizes projects that center the river’s long term health without compromising public access. It’s a win-win.

The Problems

Years of heavy recreational use, land use decisions, and a changing climate have impacted the Gallatin River in visible and invisible ways. Flows are decreasing, riverbanks are eroding, and critical fish and wildlife habitats are disappearing, degrading water quality and reducing the river’s ability to withstand environmental pressures like drought, flooding, and wildfire.

Greek Greek, Restoration, Bioengineered Streambank

Degradation from decades of informal, unmanaged access.

THE SOLUTIONS

This multi-phase restoration work is designed to stabilize riverbanks and create healthy streamside habitat within the Custer-Gallatin National Forest—from the Yellowstone National Park boundary to the confluence of Spanish Creek near Bozeman. To prevent further damage, we’ll add designated parking and clearly mark access points so visitors can experience this beautiful corridor without harming it, ensuring the Gallatin stays wild and accessible for generations to come.

These renderings of the planned restoration area along the Gallatin River show native vegetation buffers, designated parking—to encourage river users to “stay on the trail”—and stabilized riverbanks designed to reduce erosion, improve water quality, and maintain public access.

Part of a Larger Restoration Strategy

This project is one of many priority restoration projects identified through the Gallatin River Restoration Strategy, a collaborative plan to restore the Upper Gallatin River corridor—repairing degraded habitat, preventing future harm, and ensuring the river remains a vital part of southwest Montana’s heritage and outdoor economy.

Together these projects will restore 124 acress across 39 miles of the Upper Gallatin River corridor.

Explore our Moose Creek, Upper Deer Creek, and Greek Creek projects to see how we’re creating a sustainable future for the Gallatin River—where healthy ecosystems and world-class recreation thrive.

Before restoration at our Upper Deer Creek site, unmanaged vehicle access caused damage to streamside vegetation. Two designated parking areas and a vegetated buffer were installed, helping to curb erosion and pollutant runoff. Boulders were also added to prevent driving along the river’s edge.