Editing Musselshell River (section)

==Usage==
[[File:Dry Ryegate.jpg|thumb|right|Musselshell River during dry season near Ryegate.]]
Recreational use of the Musselshell averages 63,000 visitor-days per year.{{r|recl}} Much of the water on the Musselshell is [[Prior-appropriation water rights|decreed water]] and managed by the Musselshell River Distribution Project.{{r|lmcd}} The Musselshell is used extensively for [[irrigation]] for farming and ranching and due to that may run dry or nearly dry in many sections during much of the summer and fall.{{r|mra}}{{r|recl}} Water supply is less in the lower basin due to the more arid climate and the fact that users in the upper basin have [[Prior-appropriation water rights|senior rights]] to the water.{{r|recl}} Fishing is popular along most parts of the Musselshell. Species of fish found on the North and/or South Forks down to Harlowton include: [[mountain whitefish]], and [[brown trout|brown]], [[cutthroat trout|cutthroat]], [[rainbow trout|rainbow]], and [[brook trout]]. The eastern part of the river has [[channel catfish]], [[sauger]], [[smallmouth bass]], and [[walleye]] due to the warmer water caused by dewatering from irrigation and the arid climate shift from mountain to prairie ecosystems in the Musselshell's last {{convert|90|mi|km}}.{{r|mtfish1}}{{r|bsfish}} There are three different species of freshwater mussels as well as [[crayfish|crawdads]].{{r|mra}}

The [[Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Project]] is a planned pumped hydroelectric power plant that will use water from the Cottonwood Creek, a Musselshell tributary.<ref name="abc">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/license-issued-1b-montana-power-storage-project-44356609|title=License Issued for $1B Montana Power Storage Project|publisher=ABC News|date=December 22, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>