I am asking you to do your job, follow your legally mandated priorities and protect our National Park as required by law. Recently there has been added pressure on the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the water coming into Bighorn Lake in a way that shows preference for the river fishery below the Yellowtail Dam. This dam, named after the famous Crow chairman Robert Yellowtail, harnessed the waters of the Bighorn River and turned this variable stream into a magnificent lake. There are two visitor centers and other developed facilities in Fort Smith, Montana and near Lovell, Wyoming. By drafting the lake below the National Park Service's requested level of 3620', you are creating an undependable recreation season which in turns inhibits current and potential business activities and greatly affects Northern WY's economy. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a lesser known treasure waiting to be discovered. Bighorn Lake is a reservoir located just 38.7 miles from Lovell, in Big Horn County, in the state of Wyoming, United States, near Fort Smith, MT. Making a Good Lake Great! Turn on Highway 313 traveling 40 miles south to Fort Smith, Montana and the North entrance. The Afterbay Lake below the Yellowtail Dam is a good spot for trout fishing and wildlife viewing for ducks, geese and other animals. Please keep your comments kind and civil. The Recreation Area is composed of 70,000+ acres, which straddles the northern Wyoming and southern Montana borders. Mr. Davies, The below petition will go directly to Steve Davies (sdavies@usbr.gov) of the Bureau of Reclamation. [1], The reservoir is 40 mi (64 km) south of Billings, Montana. This is not "Fair and Balanced" management. Bighorn Lake extends approximately 60 miles through Wyoming and Montana, 55 miles of which are held within spectacular Bighorn Canyon. Bighorn Lake is a reservoir behind Yellowtail Dam within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, located in southern Montana and northern Wyoming. I strongly encourage you to use the Yellowtail Dam for its intended flood control purpose, and to have better coordination on releases, lake elevations and flows from the upstream dams, so that the lake levels will meet the National Park Services' elevation recommendations and all visitors and businesses can rely on a consistent recreation season. Bighorn Lake is a reservoir behind Yellowtail Dam within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, located in southern Montana and northern Wyoming. It stretches the entire 72 mi (115 km) length of the Bighorn Canyon at full pool. I understand that the BOR has no legal mandate to maintain "optimum" River releases of between 3,000 cfs and 8,000 cfs while drafting the lake below 3620' which completely shuts off all South end lake recreation. It boasts breath-taking scenery, countless varieties of wildlife, and abundant recreational opportunities, such as boating, fishing, ice fishing, camping, and hiking. Friends of Bighorn Lake - Web Cam. I understand that the lake must be drafted during high inflow spring runoff, but it is your responsibility to fill it back up as quick as possible while keeping river releases below the designed 20,000 cfs. Recently there has been added pressure on the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the water coming into Bighorn Lake in a way that shows preference for the river fishery below the Yellowtail Dam. By drafting the lake below the National Park Service's requested level of 3620', you are creating an undependable recreation season which in turns inhibits current and potential business activities and greatly affects Northern WY's economy. I am concerned that your current operating criteria is drafting the lake levels too low for the purpose of maintaining river releases at less than half of what the Yellowtail Unit was designed to release and still maintain "flood control". Horseshoe Bend Web Cam Link Geography. I understand that the BOR has no legal mandate to maintain "optimum" River releases of between 3,000 cfs and 8,000 cfs while drafting the lake below 3620' which completely shuts off all South end lake recreation. I am writing you today to ask the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the Yellowtail Reservoir / Bighorn Lake according to its legally mandated priorities. DESIGNED BYTeslaThemes, Supported by WPmatic, Lake Users Marshal Forces to Oppose Management Changes. Fishermen will find a variety of fish including lingcod, brown trout, catfish, sauger, largemouth bass, walleye and rainbow trout here. If BOR continues to cave into this pressure to provide "optimum" river flows for the fishery, our lake levels will suffer to the point that recreation on the lake will be halted for longer periods than need be. I am asking you to do your job, follow your legally mandated priorities and protect our National Park as required by law. Nor does the BOR have any legally mandated responsibility to protect any private property that has been developed and encroached on the flood plane. South entrance - near Lovell, Wyoming - From 14A turn north on Highway 37, continuing 9 miles to South entrance. The Lake was created by the 1965 construction of Yellowtail Dam on the Bighorn River, near Fort Smith, Montana. Bighorn Lake extends approximately 60 miles through Wyoming and Montana, 55 miles of which are held within spectacular Bighorn Canyon. [2], "National Park Foundation- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area", Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area topics, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bighorn_Lake&oldid=980136606, Reservoirs and dams in National Park Service units, Buildings and structures in Big Horn County, Montana, Buildings and structures in Carbon County, Montana, Buildings and structures in Big Horn County, Wyoming, Articles using infobox body of water without alt, Articles using infobox body of water without image bathymetry, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 September 2020, at 20:18.

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