Section 319
                NONPOINT
      RDGRAM  SUCCESS STORY
 Successful Collaboration and Agricultural BMPs Improved 80 Miles of
 Sun River
\A/citprhnrl\/ Imnrnx/prl  ~'~'ie ma'nstem of the Sun River is split into upper and lower seg-
               y    ^          ments for management purposes. The Upper Sun River was listed
 as impaired  on Montana's 2000 and 2002 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies because of excess
 nutrients. Landowners; local watershed organizations; and many federal, state, and  local govern-
 ment agencies collaborated to implement agricultural best management practices (BMPs) in the
 Upper Sun River and its tributaries. Water quality improved as a result, allowing the Montana
 Department of Environmental Quality to remove the Upper Sun River from the 303(d) list for
 nutrients in 2006. The Sun River watershed project is a classic example  of using the watershed
 approach to address nonpoint source pollution.
 Problem
 The Upper Sun River is in central Montana on the
 Rocky Mountain Front. The previously impaired
 segment is approximately 80 miles long and runs
 from Gibson Dam to Muddy Creek. The Montana
 Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) added
 the Upper Sun River to the 2000 and  2002 303(d)
 impaired waters list because high levels of nutrients
 caused the river to not meet state water quality stan-
 dards for aquatic life and cold water fishery uses.
 Montana's nutrient standard prohibits "conditions
 [that] produce undesirable aquatic life," which, in this
 case, refers to excess growth of benthic algae that
 interferes with aquatic life uses. Agricultural prac-
 tices were largely to blame for the Upper Sun River's
 elevated nutrient levels. Irrigation and stormwater
 runoff carried excess nutrients from over-fertilized
 fields and poorly managed livestock production areas
 into the river.
 Project Highlights
 Early community-planning efforts produced initial
 watershed plans that identified key action items
 for restoration. This led to the development of the
 TMDL/WatershedRestoration Plan, coordinated by
 MDEQ in partnership with the Sun River Watershed
 Group. As part of this plan, Montana set nutrient tar-
 gets (39 micrograms per liter [jug/L] total phosphorus
and 350 jug/L total nitrogen) for the Upper Sun River.
If nutrient concentrations could be reduced to below
the stated targets, excess growth of benthic algae
would not occur under typical conditions. The plan
also included restoration strategies for the impaired
segments in the watershed.

Responding to the plan, partners have helped
implement numerous water quality improvement
projects in the Upper Sun River watershed. Farmers
implemented nutrient management BMPs in the
Ford/Elk Creek and Adobe Creek watersheds to
minimize fertilizer applications and thus  reduce the
amount of nutrients transported  to streams via run-
off. Farmers improved irrigation water management
practices by (1) lining irrigation canals to minimize
and stabilize irrigation return flows and (2) using
AgriMet—a U.S.  Bureau of Reclamation  satellite-
based network of automated agricultural weather
stations that provides weather, crop-water use,
and other information to help support irrigation and
agriculture management (for more information, see
www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet). In addition,  landowners
implemented riparian area grazing management
BMPs such as fencing, stream bank stabilization
techniques, and fishery improvement projects in the
Ford/Elk Creek and Adobe Creek watersheds and
along Willow Creek, Big Coulee,  and the mainstem

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                      Legend
                         303 (d) Streams/Lakes 2002
                       • 319 Implementation ProjectAreas
                      	8-digitHUCs
                      I  I Priority 12 digit HUCs
                         Completed TMDL Planning Areas
Sun River Watershed

    Montana
                                                               Sun River Watershed
                                                                       Muddy Cr. Water Quality
                                                                       improvement 319 Project Area
                          Big Coulee 319
                            Project Area
Adobe Cr./Ft. Shaw
                                               Sun River Watershed TMDL
                                               And Water Quality Restoration
                                               319 Project Area
      Ford Creek/E k Creek
      Restoration Project
                                                Other projects not noted on map include
                                                multiple "Future Fisheries" and NRCS
                                                EQIP projects.
Map of Sun River Watershed Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
of the Sun River. Streambank stabilization included
using non-riprap techniques such as sloping banks;
planting vegetation; and installing erosion matting,
root wads, and rock barbs.
                                             Partners and Funding
Results
The cumulative effects of these on-the-ground
efforts, combined with outreach and education
activities that have led to better land-use
practices by landowners, resulted in 20 miles
of stabilized Streambank, four miles of restored
primary fishery and spawning habitat, 800 feet
of lined irrigation canal, and the implementation
of grazing management practices on 50,000
acres of rangeland. In 2005 and 2006, MDEQ
collected water quality samples from the Upper
Sun River. They indicated that phosphorus and
nitrogen concentrations had dropped and were
consistently below target levels of 39/jg/L and
350/jg/L, respectively,  as identified in the TMDL/
Water Quality Restoration Plan. As a result, MDEQ
removed the 80-mile long impaired segment of the
Upper Sun River from the 303(d) list for nutrients
in 2006.
                                             Many partners were involved with this project,
                                             including seven federal agencies, eight state
                                             agencies, ten local governments, four community
                                             groups, and many landowners. From 1994 to 2006,
                                             MDEQ administered $623,430 of Clean Water
                                             Act section 319 grant funding for implementing
                                             the variety of BMPs previously mentioned. In
                                             addition, $2,484,926 of nonfederal  and  another
                                             $1,988,793 in federal funds were used to restore
                                             the Sun River watershed through programs such
                                             as Montana's Future Fisheries program, and the
                                             Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS's)
                                             EQIP program. The  Fort Shaw Irrigation District,
                                             Greenfields Irrigation District, Milan, and Sun River
                                             Ditch Company worked together to improve irriga-
                                             tion  efficiencies in the watershed by 10 percent.
                                             The  NRCS  Conservation Reserve Program helped
                                             to reduce salinity by converting dry cropping lands
                                             to rangeland. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
                                             the Lewis & Clark Conservation District;  and the
                                             Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
                                             are working on the Hogan irrigation diversion to
                                             improve fish passage.
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
     Office of Water
 £  Washington, DC
 UJ
 O
     EPA841-F-07-001Y
     October 2007
                                             For additional information contact:
                                             Alan Rollo, Sun River Watershed Group
                                             406-727-4437 • arollo@mcn.net
                                             Taylor Greenup, Montana DEQ
                                             406-444-3527 • tgreenup@mt.gov

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