Are Fort Peck Reservoir fish too polluted to eat? It depends on who you ask

By Amanda Eggert | Montana Free Press | May 6, 2026

Read the full article by Amanda Eggert (Montana Free Press)

"Montanans who regularly eat fish harvested from some of the state’s most popular angling destinations may want to reconsider their diet. State agencies are directing people to limit their consumption of certain fish species found in the state’s rivers and reservoirs contaminated with PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to cancers and other serious health risks.

On April 23, a trio of state agencies updated the Montana Sport Fish Consumption Guidelines with new advisories that take into account concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which have been dubbed “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment.

According to those guidelines, women and children should avoid eating large walleye and northern pike from Fort Peck Reservoir, as well as brown trout from the section of Prickly Pear Creek downstream of the now-shuttered ASARCO lead smelter in East Helena. On a handful of other rivers and reservoirs, such as the East Gallatin River, Nelson Reservoir and Yellowstone River, the guidelines advise limiting consumption of other fish species ranging from channel catfish to mountain whitefish and smallmouth bass."