Pre-Restoration Characteristics

of Upper Willow Creek,

Granite County, Montana 

by

Michael Sanctuary

BA, University of Colorado, 1995

presented in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

The University of Montana

December 2002

 ABSTRACT: Listed as “impaired” on the Montana Department of Environmental Quality 303(d) list in 1996, 2000 and 2002, Upper Willow Creek falls in the “not supporting” category for aquatic life and cold-water fisheries due to habitat degradation and lack of flow.  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks identified Upper Willow Creek as a high priority tributary of Rock Creek for restoration of westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) habitat.  Physical, chemical and biological aspects of Upper Willow Creek were studied to document current conditions and identify sources of impairment and restoration needs.  Biological descriptions involved conducting instream habitat and riparian vegetation surveys and sampling fish populations.  The physical assessment documented substrate composition, channel morphology, temperature fluctuations and discharge.  The chemical component of the study addressed nutrient and sediment levels at five sample locations throughout the length of Upper Willow Creek.  The upper 9.5 miles (section I) of the creek showed excellent aquatic habitat quality, healthy riparian vegetation, high trout densities and stable channel conditions.  The middle 5.8 miles (section II) showed poor riparian vegetation and multiple channel alterations, degraded aquatic habitat and elevated water temperatures.  The lower 6 miles (section III) showed few channel alterations and fair riparian and instream habitat quality; however, problems were evident including high water temperature and fine sediment accumulation due to disturbances in section II.  Suspended sediments were low in this low flow year; however, nutrient concentrations exceeded water quality standards adopted by the State of Montana for the Upper Clark Fork River.