lower Lodgepole Creek are dominated by an overstory of ponderosa 

 pine and Rocky Mountain juniper (USDA 1976) . The main land use 

 in both watersheds is livestock grazing, although water quality 

 in lower Careless Creek is also affected by releases of water 

 from Deadman's Basin Reservoir, an off -stream irrigation water 

 storage reservoir. 



Periphyton samples were collected at one site each on 

 Careless Creek, Lodgepole Creek, and the South Fork of Lodgepole 

 Creek in July and August 1999 (Table 1; maps) . Elevations at the 

 sampling sites range from 3,600 feet near the mouth of Careless 

 Creek to 2,850 feet on the South Fork of Lodgepole Creek, to 

 2,300 feet near the mouth of Lodgepole Creek. All three sites 

 are classified C-3 in the Montana Surface Water Quality 

 Standards, although Deadman's Basin Reservoir and Careless Creek 

 above Swimming Woman Creek are "classified B-1. Both of these 

 waters are immediately upstream from the reach containing the 

 Careless Creek sampling site. 



METHODS 



Periphyton samples were collected following standard 

 operating procedures of the MDEQ Planning, Prevention, and 

 Assistance Division. Using appropriate tools, microalgae were 

 scraped, brushed, or sucked from natural substrates in proportion 

 to the rank of those substrates at the study site. Macroalgae 

 were picked by hand in proportion to their abundance at the site. 

 All collections of microalgae and macroalgae were pooled into a 

 common container and preserved with Lugol ' s solution. 



The sample from Careless Creek was collected by Carole 

 Mackin, MDEQ. The samples from Lodgepole Creek and the South 

 Fork of Lodgepole Creek were collected by Warren PCellogg, NRCS . 



