Benefits of the Hungry Horse Project

The Hungry Horse Project releases stored water to generate electricity and maintain streamflow for the fishery. It reduces downstream flood damage by storing snowmelt and precipitation. The reservoir draws thousands of recreation visi tors year round.

What's the Yearly Value? Power generated: $36.5 million Flood damage prevented: $3.4 million Recreation: 100,000 visits - $2.9 million

The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

www.usbrgov/pn·HungryHorseFleldOffice·(406)387-5241

® P,inl.:d on pal""' "0.,,in; "8" k." 10 1'<""<"' """"o,,,um.,, rober. What's in a Name? Looking to the Future Delays Are Costly

The severe \900- 01 w inter left two freight The first permanent settlers entered the Fl athead Workers spent 3 years horses lost and starved in the rugged Flathead Va lley in 1860. As the Flathead Valley grew in of hard labor (1945­ River wilderness. Found a month later, their the new century. so did the belief that a new 1948) building an owners nursed them back to health. " Hungry could reduce flooding and harness the access road and Horse" became the name of a nearby mountain river's force to produce electricity. digging a tunnel to di­ and creek and, later, this Reclamation project citizens worked for 30 years toward bringing vert the river away th is belief to life. Federal agencies surveyed the damsite. Just as lands and began efforts toward Congressional prepared to May 1948 flood cleanup Reclamation's Beginning approval to build a large water project. start work on the dam, disastrous flooding hit the entire Columbia Ri ver Basin. Many li ves The Reclamation Act of 1902 establi shed what is were lost and communities destroyed. now the Bureau of Recl amation to help develop Where to Build? the arid West. Later legislation stated that those receiving electri city produced by Reclamation During World War II, some considered raisi ng A Dam Rises projects would pay part of the construction and Fl athead Lake to inc rease electricity producti on ongoing operation and maintenance costs. at several downstream . Local opposition Hundreds of workers­ to this plan and th e need to also reduce fl ooding many were returning turned the investigations veterans- started to Hungry Horse Dam. building Hungry Horse In 1944, Reclamation Dam in Jul y 1948. proposed a 564-foot­ They blasted rock, high dam on the South built cableways, and Fork Flathead Ri ver and poured concrete as the obtai ned Congressional huge dam took shape. . ' , =. approva l to build Workers rel ocated

Hungry Horse Project. 1949 jackhammer crew many U.S. Forest ¢1 • Construction would Scrvicc facilities that th e • begin as soon as the war new reservoir would fl ood. 'f;: • • I 0 ~ H 0 effort could spare the President Truman threw materials and workers. the switch in 1952 to start generating electricity at Hungry Horse Dam OREGON • .. Powcrplant. Workers completed the dam in A single drop of Hungry Horse Project water travels more than 1.100 miles from Montana's mountains to the 1953. The availability Pacific Ocean. Along the way, this water produces electricity at many more dams downstream. Some are of low-cost electricity federally own ed and operated: others belong to public utilities. attracted new industries, such as an aluminum plant at Columbia Fall s. Making Electricity One Big System

Hungry Horse Project plays an important Hungry Horse role in meeting the needs for electricity in the Project is part of the Pacific Northwest. The reservoir stores almost Federal Columbia 3.5 million acre-feet of water for later release River Power System. to produce clean . Reclamation Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of upgraded the Hungry Horse generators in the Engineers operate dams and powerplants, early 1990s to produce up to 428,000 kilowatts including the nearby Libby and Albeni Falls of electricity, enough for almost 270,000 homes. Dams, as a single system. The Federal system The Bonneville Power Administration sells the produces electricity, reduces flooding, and electricity to help pay the cost of constructing, provides water for irrigation, navigation, operating, and maintaining Hungry Horse recreation, and fish and wildlife. Project.

Dam Construction Specifications Quite an Structural Height: 564 ft Attraction Crest Length: 2,115 ft Crest Elevation: 3,565 ft Hungry Horse Base Width: 320 ft Reservoir is Crest Width: 34 ft Volume of Concrete: 2,934,500 cu yd the center of attention for those who enjoy a wide variety of year-round outdoor activities. The U.S. Forest Service (), in cooperation with Reclamation, manages the numerous campgrounds and boat launches around the reservoir. The 34-mile-long reservoir has over 6,800 acres of water surface and about 170 miles of shoreline. Visitors enjoy fishing, boating, swimming, and waterskiing.

From the Mountains of Montana

The cool, clear water of the South Fork begins in the Bob Marshall Wilderness along the western slopes of the Continental Divide. The water flows into Hungry Horse Reservoir where it is stored for later use.

Improving an Excellent Fishery

Reclamation supports efforts to improve habitat and increase species’ populations by releasing water year- round to preserve the river habitat downstream from Hungry Horse Dam. Through innovative engineering and Bonneville Power Administration funding, Hungry Horse Dam now releases water from specific reservoir elevations to more closely follow the natural cycle of seasonal water temperatures. This and Dr . Ernest Keeley, Idaho State University Dr . Ernest Keeley, other projects with the U.S. Forest Service and the State of Montana have improved habitat and fishery throughout the Flathead River Rich Habitat Supports Many Species Basin. The reservoir and surrounding area provide rich habitat for a variety of species such as elk, Seasons of the Reservoir moose, deer, bear, upland birds, and fish. Bull trout, listed as a threatened species under the Hungry Horse Reservoir captures spring runoff to reduce flood damage along the Flathead and Columbia Endangered Species Act, spawn in tributaries River systems in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The reservoir remains high throughout the and then migrate to Hungry Horse Reservoir. summer for recreation. The dam releases water during the fall and winter to produce electricity.