History
| Prior to white development and settlement, Pattee Creek flowed from Pattee Canyon and along the Missoula valley floor through series of wetlands and ponds until it reached the Bitterroot River. One longtime local resident who lives at the present end of Pattee Creek can remember a time when the creek flowed through her property to the Bitterroot. The creek widened into a large, marshy wetland, but the residents and developers diverted the creek into a small ditch alongside a fencerow. She recalls that the creek has not reached the Bitterroot for a long time. Even during high-flow seasons (after the snow melts), there is no water that runs through her portion of the waterway. Development and diversions (for irrigation) along the creek have heavily impacted the lower stretches of Pattee Creek. The creek now must run through human-constructed ditches, culverts and concrete channels. |