Yellowstone Impact Study
The Yellowstone Impact Study was conducted by the Water Resources Division of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and financed by the Old West Regional Commission. It 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 each level. Impacts on river morphology and water quality were then assessed. 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 final result was a report summarizing all aspects of the study, and eleven specialized technical reports:
Report 1: Future Development Projections and Hydrologic Modeling |
Report 2: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on the Hydrology and Geomorphology |
Report 3: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on the Water Quality |
Report 4: The Adequacy of Montana's Regulatory Framework for Water Quality Control. |
Report 5: Aquatic Invertebrates |
Report 6: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on Furbearing Mammals |
Report 7: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on Migratory Birds |
Report 8: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on Fish of the Yellowstone and Tongue Rivers |
Report 9: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on Existing Municipal and Agricultural Users |
Report 10: The Effect of Altered Streamflow on Water-Based Recreation |
Report 11: The Economics of Altered Streamflow |
