The Milk River Watershed

 

The Milk River Watershed spans about 23,800 square miles, encompassing Montana, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Milk River is approximately 729 miles from start in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the confluence of the Missouri River.

The Milk River, consisting of 30 tributaries, exists in a semiarid climate, meaning moderately low rainfall, low humidity, hot summers, and cold winters.

The highest peak in the watershed is in Glacier National Park at an elevation of 8,737 ft. The lowest point of the watershed is at the confluence of the Missouri and Milk Rivers at an elevation of 2,031 ft.

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Lifeline of the Hi-Line

Communities

These communities rely on the Milk River for their supply of water:

  • Havre a town with an estimated population of 10,000

  • North Havre a town with an estimated population of 650

  • Chinook a town with an estimated population of 1,250

  • Harlem a town with an estimated population of 830

  • Fort Belknap and Blackfeet Nations have Federal Reserved Water Rights Compacts

Agriculture

  • The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has a contract to irrigate 110,000 acres from the Milk River, an additional 30,000 are privately irrigated

  • Major crops grown in the watershed include primarily dry crops like wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Other crops that tend to be irrigated are tame hay such as alfalfa, and wild hay

  • The St. Mary’s diversion system in Babb, MT can allocate up to 90% of the Milk River flow during irrigation season

  • Storage facilities that hold Milk River water include Fresno Dam and Reservoir, Fort Belknap Diversion Dam, Dodson Dam, Nelson Dam and Reservoir, Lake Bowdoin, and Vandalia Dam

 

Wildlife & Sport

  • The Milk River provides the spawning area for the endangered Pallid Sturgeon below Vandalia Dam

  • The habitat for the endangered Piping plover

  • Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

  • State and federal wildlife preserves

  • 40+ species of fish ranging from Trout-Catfish in the Milk River

  • Stocked fisheries in Nelson and Fresno Reservoir including Walleye, Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, and Lake Whitefish

  • Ice fishing

  • Waterfowl and upland bird hunting

  • Big and small game hunting