The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has been holding meetings across the state this week to discuss its new draft Statewide Fisheries Management Plan. The 479-page document provides insight into rivers, lakes and streams across the state, the fish species that live there, and how the state plans to manage for the fish. Fisheries bureau chief Bruce Rich told a Billings gathering on Thursday night that the plan provides greater transparency for the public on why and how the state treats certain fisheries the way it does. The document also discusses what fisheries staff sees as important challenges facing their areas in the future.

To check out the plan, click here or read the story in Sunday’s Billings Gazette.

This post was written by Brett French, Outdoors Editor for the Billings Gazette.