During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the popularity of fly fishing exploded in ways unseen since the release of the film A River Runs Through It. Nowhere was this more apparent than at Simms' headquarters in Bozeman, Montana where it was difficult to keep products stocked to meet demand. When Simms employees weren’t hard at work, they were running into more and more fly fishers on their favorite local waters. At the same time, more people were moving to Montana, with Gallatin County being the fastest growing county in the state and local development increasing at an astounding rate. The combination of these factors was putting unprecedented demand on the water resources and fisheries of the Gallatin watershed. Watching this happen in real time, Simms decided that they needed to step up and help their local waters.

In 2020, Simms reached out to Trout Unlimited to see what could be done to help preserve the Gallatin Watershed. After some conversations Simms pledged $250,000 over three years to kick start the Trout Unlimited Gallatin Home River Initiative (Gallatin HRI). The initiative would increase local capacity to focus on protecting the Gallatin’s fishery through restoration projects, building partnerships with local conservation entities, and providing education and volunteer opportunities for the local community. With three years of funding, TU was able to hire a project manager during early 2021 to lead the Gallatin HRI.

Whenever TU creates a new program, it takes a bit to build partnerships and restoration projects but with almost three years in the books, the Gallatin HRI has made great progress towards the goals of the initiative.

So far, the Gallatin HRI has raised over $400,000 in grants and private funding to support restoration projects on tributaries to the Gallatin River. During 2024, the first of these projects will combine to result in habitat improvement along 2.5 miles of stream channel, remove 120 tons annual of fine sediment contributions to our streams, and restore natural processes that improve water quality. These projects occur on tributaries that are critical to providing spawning and rearing habitat for juvenile trout, many of which migrate to the Gallatin and East Gallatin rivers as adults.

The Gallatin HRI has also built great relationships with the US Forest Service and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, helping these agencies with fish surveys and the development of future restoration projects. We have joined forces with local nonprofits like the Gallatin Watershed Council and Gallatin River Task Force to write grants for conservation projects and participate in working groups that will help guide the future of water use in the Gallatin watershed. TU has also spent extensive time on local education and outreach; guest lecturing at Montana State University, leading stream cleanups, tabling at local events, leading field tours of previous restoration projects, and speaking at several events.

Over the past three years the Gallatin HRI has laid the groundwork for fisheries conservation efforts into the future. With three restoration projects scheduled for implementation this year and several more in development there is no shortage of work to be done. Due to all the positive momentum, Simms has decided to contribute another $135,000 over the next three years to further support staff capacity for the Gallatin Home River Initiative. If you would like to learn more about the Gallatin HRI or stay in the loop on all things trout in the Gallatin, be sure to follow the Gallatin HRI Instagram account @tu_gallatin_hri.