Fox Creek
Lower Yellowstone Channel Migration Easement
Program
Stream and Wetland Mitigation
Watershed
Lower Yellowstone
Montana Freshwater Partners worked with the Montana Land Reliance and a private landowner to place the very first channel migration easement (CME) on the Yellowstone River just west of Sidney, MT, protecting 90-acres of floodplain habitat.
Restoration Techniques
Channel Migration Easement
CMEs are a special type of conservation easement that protect a river’s ability to migrate naturally across the floodplain so the important processes of erosion and sediment deposition can continue. The landowners volunteered to withold restrictions on stabilizing banklines, allowing the river channel to naturally migrate within its floodplain, while other activities such as farming and livestock grazing are permitted within the easement. The CME protected over 90 acres of floodplain. The natural migration of a river is critical for flood mitigation, water quality, and fish, plant, and wildlife habitat.
Ecosystem Benefits
Long-Term Riparian Habitat Protection
Floodplain Protection
Project Partners
acres of floodplain protected
Our Projects
We work across Montana to restore and protect our state’s precious water resources.
