Water Returning to Lake Elmo; Dozens of Improvements Wrapping Up

This week marks the beginning of the end for a historic event in the evolution of Lake Elmo State Park in Billings Heights.

Water from the Yellowstone River flowing through the Billings Bench Canal reached the headgate leading into Lake Elmo and will start to fill the 60-acre irrigation reservoir that was drained last fall. As the water level rises 16 feet to full pool, it will cover dozens of new features for fish in a lake now free of the one undesirable thing that sparked the whole project.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists drained Lake Elmo as much as possible last fall to try to r...