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Municipal water supplies are taken from Flower Creek (for Libby) and 

 from O'Brien Creek (for Troy). Silvicultural activities have been 

 pursued on both private and USPS lands within these drainages. Current 

 harvesting is done carefully and with supervision from DHES (Kalispell). 

 Although no water quality problems (related to forestry practices) have 

 developed to date, complete land use control is limited due to the multiple 

 ownership patterns. 



Table VI-A4 identifies existing and potential problem areas within the 

 Lower Kootenai watershed segment. These problems are located on Plate I . 



5. Yaak River Drainage 



The Yaak River drainage in the northwest corner of Montana is tributary to 



the Kootenai River. The headwaters area is in Canada, while the Purcell 



Mountains define the watershed in Montana. The mouth is approximately 



five miles east of the Montana/Idaho border. The DNR&C drainage basin 



identification number is 76B and the drainage is classed as B-Di water 



(DHES). 



Ownership within the Yaak River drainage is predominatly USPS. However, 

 narrow strips of private ownerships are located in the valley bottoms 

 of the main stem, some of its tributaries, and near the mouth. 



Timber harvesting has been extensive in the southern and western portions 

 of the drainage, predominantly on USPS lands. Silvicultural activities 

 on private lands have been pursued in the past and will be continued. 

 Imapcts to stream water quality have resulted from some of these operations, 

 Table VI-A5 outlines these water quality problem areas within the Yaak 

 River watershed. Locations are shown on Plate I. 



