The following is an exert from an out of print document entitled Living with Ashley Creek. This document was published in 1987 for the Flathead Conservation District. It was under a contract with Montana Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, and the Water Qualtiy Bureau. Also assisting with the project were Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The entire document is available by contacting the Flathead Conservation District office.
Dutton, B. 1987. Living with Ashley Creek: Streambank Management and Nonpoint Pollution in the Ashley Creek Drainage, Flathead County, Montana. Flathead Conservation District. Kalispell, Montana. pp. 23-25.
Ashley Creek: A Profile
No two streams are exactly alike. Each is affected by climate, topography, geologic and soils materials, stream gradient (steepness), vegetation and other factors. Ashley Creekk is a very unusual stream for many reasons. One fo the most iiportant is the strong influence of the post-glacial topography on stream characteristics, including gradient and meander frequency. We usually think of streams as shaping teh landscape, but int eh case of Ashley Creek the landscape has shaped teh stream. Where glaciers left nearly level till deposits, the stream runs slowly and meanders constantly. Where glacial ice scoured steep grades or down to bedrock, the stream runs straight and fast. Near its confluence with the Flathead River, Ashley Creek has been "captured" by one of the river's abandoned meander channels in which the creek now flows. Some Ashley Creek's other distinguishing features include:
1) Tremendous variation in gradient and materials
2) A series of lakes along its course which act as sediiment basins to reduce sediment levels, and flood control structures to reduce flood severity.
3) Large amounts of organic matter and organic soils along its course.
4) Severe water quality problems from both natural and cultural sources, especially the Kalispell sewage treatment {note: The Kalispell Sewage Treatment plant has since been updated, and contains some most state of systems in the country. This has greatly reduce the point source pollution on Ashley Creek}
5) The presence of a rare aquatic insect in teh Heliopsyche genus of the caddis group
Ashley Creek flows from its lake source across a relatively flat glacial moraine surface containing Lone Lake and Lake Monroe. The Gradient is slight, the materials silty and the stram has many meanders. Where the gradient steepens near the falls, the creek takes a much more direct path with few meanders. Below the falls the gradient flattens out once again and the stream has a moderated amount of meanders until it reaches Kalispell.
From the Foy Lake road (west of Kalispell to Snowline Lane (southeast of Kalispell), Ashley Creek crosses a very flat, very silty land surface. In this section, the stream undergoes its most dramatic meadering. East form Snowline Lane, the creek flows along old channels of the Flathead River and resembles a bayou sough with very little meadering.
Each section of Ashley Creek has unique properties which must be considered for planning projects. Each section is dynamically related to the landscape and soils across which it flows.
