Mid-March in Montana is a pressure cooker of outdoor planning. Ice is pulling off the lower-elevation reservoirs, spring bear openers are weeks away, turkey hunters are burning boot leather on south-facing ridges, and shed hunters are racing the snow. The last thing you want is to show up at a stretch of river or a piece of public ground and find out — after a two-hour drive — that something has changed. That’s exactly why you need to be paying attention to FWP’s public notice board right now.
The Notice You May Have Missed: Hogan’s Slough Bank Stabilization
On March 11, FWP posted a Decision Notice for the Hogan’s Slough Bank Stabilization Project in Region 5. This is a Region 5 fisheries project, which puts it squarely in southeastern Montana — an area that doesn’t always get the regulatory spotlight that the Missouri or Madison watersheds do, but absolutely deserves your attention. Note to editors: the specific permit number and SPA designation referenced in an earlier draft could not be independently verified at time of publication; confirm identifiers directly with FWP Region 5 before citing them in print.
Bank stabilization projects like this one involve physical work along the waterway — riprap placement, vegetation work, or structural reinforcement — to halt erosion and protect both the stream channel and adjacent habitat. That’s good for fish in the long run. But during and immediately after project execution, these sites can affect public fishing access, wading corridors, and riparian zones that anglers rely on during the spring runoff window.
What This Means on the Ground
If you’re a Region 5 angler — think Powder River, Tongue River, Bighorn tributaries, or any of the slough systems east of Billings — this is your heads-up to check current project status before you trailer your drift boat or pack your waders for a spring outing in that drainage. Slough systems in this part of the state often serve as critical early-season warm-water fisheries, and access points along them can be limited even in normal conditions.
Bank stabilization projects are permitted under Montana’s Conservation Environmental Assessment process, which means FWP has reviewed the ecological impact. To stay informed, pull up the full notice on the FWP website to review the project scope, timeline, and any access restrictions.
How to Find the Full Details
- Go to fwp.mt.gov and navigate to the Public Notices section
- Search for “Hogan’s Slough” to locate the current project notice
- Review the project boundaries, timeline, and any access restrictions noted in the decision document
- Contact FWP Region 5 headquarters in Billings directly at (406) 247-2940 if you have specific access or comment questions
Why Mid-March FWP Notices Matter More Than You Think
Here’s the honest truth: most Montana anglers don’t read public notices until something bites them. Don’t be that guy standing at a locked gate with a cooler full of expectations. March is when FWP and other agencies push through a wave of project permits, season framework decisions, and access agreements before the spring recreation season kicks into high gear. Missing these notices means missing your chance to comment — and sometimes missing out on access you didn’t know was at risk.
Right now, across the state, there are several categories of notices worth watching beyond Hogan’s Slough:
- Spring bear season frameworks — Region 2 (Missoula) and Region 1 (Kalispell) typically finalize any last-minute quota adjustments in March
- Stream access litigation and procedure updates — Senate Bill 143, passed in the 2025 legislative session, addresses legal procedures around stream access disputes; separately, riverbed ownership questions continue to affect wade fishing access on private-land river corridors statewide. Watch FWP notices for any access-related updates in your drainage.
- Upland bird season closures — some walk-in areas in Phillips and Valley counties see late-winter access modifications tied to landowner agreements
- Reservoir drawdown schedules — Tiber, Fresno, and Canyon Ferry management decisions made now directly affect early walleye and trout fishing this spring
The Bigger Picture for Spring Planning
Whether you’re pointing your truck toward the Yellowstone corridor for early brown trout, glassing for bears above Cooke City (the Absaroka-Beartooth country north and west of town is one of southwest Montana’s most productive spring bear glassing areas), or hammering walleye on Fort Peck the moment the ice lets go, your spring hinges on knowing what the regulations say before you go. FWP posts public notices for a reason — they want public engagement, and frankly, they want you informed.
Make it a weekly habit through April to check FWP’s public notice board. Set a browser bookmark. Sign up for regional email alerts if your area offers them. The five minutes you spend on a Thursday afternoon could save you a wasted trip — or tip you off to a new access opportunity that most hunters and anglers haven’t discovered yet. That’s how engaged Montana outdoorsmen protect the access we have.