Natural Resource Information System

Yellowstone Impact Study

The Yellowstone Impact Study, conducted by the Water Resources Division of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and financed by the Old West Regional Commission, was designed to evaluate the potential physical, biological, and water use impacts of water withdrawls and water development on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellowstone River Basin in Montana. The study's plan of operation was to project three possible levels of future agricultural, industrial, and municipal development in the Yellowstone Basin and the streamflow depletions associated with that development. Impacts on river morphology and water quality were then assessed, and, finally, the impacts of altered streamflow, morphology, and water quality on such factors as migratory birds, furbearers, recreation, and existing water users were analyzed.

The study began in the fall of 1974. By its conclusion in December of 1976, the information generated by the study had already been used for a number of moratorium-related projects -- the EIS on reservations of water in the Yellowstone Basin, for example (Montana DNRC 1976). The study resulted in a final report summarizing all aspects of the study and in eleven specialized technical reports:

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