Lecture: Trout Unltd: Mine Cleanup in the Ninemile

April 17 7:00 pm at the Ninemile Community Center

25620 Nine Mile Road, Huson, MT 59846

Paul Parson, Trout Unlimited and Two Decades of Mine Cleanup in the Ninemile Valley

Trout Unlimited and partners have worked for two decades to address abandoned mines in the Ninemile Creek drainage. Cooperative restoration efforts by Trout Unlimited, Montana DEQ, DNRC, FWP, Missoula County and the Lolo National Forest as well as landowners include filling dredge ponds, removal and stabilization of contaminated mine waste and removal of overburden dredge piles while shaping new stream channels, wetlands and establishing vegetation. Fourteen mine reclamation projects in the have been successfully completed, yielding reduced sediment and metals inputs, enhanced riparian corridors, wetlands, fish passage, and healthy, unimpaired stream channels. Total costs of these projects exceed $5 Million with a majority of that funding going to local restoration contractors and consultants, providing jobs and a boost to the local economy. An additional $350,000 has been raised for reclamation work in 2024-2025.