Big Hole Watershed Drought Resilience Plan December 2019 Prepared by: Acknowledgments This Drought Resilience Plan is the result of several years of the Big Hole Watershed Committee’s participation in collaborative drought planning processes with a number of partners, advisors, and stakeholders. It is intended to be used as a roadmap to guide future drought resiliency projects in the Big Hole Watershed. This DRP is modeled after the 2016 Beaverhead County Drought Resilience Plan authored by Christopher Carparelli for the Beaverhead Conservation District and Watershed Committee. A sincere thank you to those involved in the partnership effort that brought this plan to completion in the name of building community resilience to drought. This Drought Resilience Plan was created, reviewed, and improved by the following: Big Hole Watershed Committee Tana Nulph, Associate Director; Pedro Marques, Executive Director Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Ann Schwend, Water Planner Big Hole Watershed Committee, 2019 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................................. 2 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Section 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 About Drought Resilience Planning ................................................................................................................ 7 The Bureau of Reclamation’s Drought Planning Guidelines .......................................................................... 7 Who Develops and Implements the Drought Resilience Plan? ....................................................................... 7 What is the Goal of the Big Hole Watershed Drought Resilience Plan? ........................................................ 8 About the Big Hole Watershed Committee ..................................................................................................... 8 A History of Drought in the Big Hole Watershed ........................................................................................... 8 How to Get Involved ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Section 2: Watershed Background .................................................................................................................. 9 Geography ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Land Use .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Climate........................................................................................................................................................... 11 Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Water Rights .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Section 3: Operational and Administrative Framework ............................................................................. 16 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Collaborative Coordination Groups ............................................................................................................... 16 NDRP Federal Partners ................................................................................................................................. 17 State Agencies ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Local Government ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Procedural and Planning Documents ............................................................................................................. 21 Section 4: Drought Monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 23 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 Evapotranspiration Monitoring Needs:......................................................................................................... 27 Drought Impact Monitoring Needs: .............................................................................................................. 30 Section 5: Vulnerability Assessment .............................................................................................................. 32 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 Drought Vulnerabilities as Identified by Local Stakeholders and Agency Advisors .................................... 33 Section 6: Mitigation Actions ......................................................................................................................... 34 Big Hole Watershed Committee, 2019 3 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Proposed Mitigation Actions ......................................................................................................................... 34 Existing Mitigation Actions........................................................................................................................... 34 Section 7: Response Actions ........................................................................................................................... 37 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 37 Proposed Response Actions........................................................................................................................... 37 Existing Response Actions ............................................................................................................................ 37 Angling Restrictions ...................................................................................................................................... 38 Section 8: DRP Update Process...................................................................................................................... 40 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 40 Frequency and Timing ................................................................................................................................... 40 Procedural Guidelines .................................................................................................................................... 41 • Section 2 Watershed Background .......................................................................................................... 41 • Section 3 Operational and Administrative Frameworks ........................................................................ 41 • Section 4 Drought Monitoring ............................................................................................................... 41 • Section 5 Vulnerability Assessment ........................................................................................................ 41 • Section 6 Mitigation Actions .................................................................................................................. 41 • Section 7 Response Actions .................................................................................................................... 41 Appendix A: Contacts ..................................................................................................................................... 41 Appendix B: Online Resources ...................................................................................................................... 43 Appendix C: Relevant Studies and Reports ................................................................................................. 44 Appendix D: References ................................................................................................................................. 46 Big Hole Watershed Committee, 2019 4 Acronyms and Abbreviations AF acre feet BAC Basin Advisory Council BAER Burned Area Emergency Response