APPENDIX D 

 CENSUS OF RIVER FALLS AND ADJACENT WESTERN RED CEDAR-DOUGLAS FIR FOREST 



Location: Montana; Lincoln County; located bctv/cen the Kootenai River and U. S. 

 Highway #2, about 19 km (12 miles) WNW of Libby; 48° 27' fi , 115° 47' W, Kootenii 

 Falls Quadrangle, U.S.G.S. Continuity: Mew. Size: 44. S ha ^ 110 acres (oblong, 

 paced). Description of Plot: Approximately 40." of the plot is water, incl 'idi nq 

 a 1500 m (= 4921 ft) stretch of the Kootenai River. Kootenai Falls, the major falls 

 of the Kootenai River, is located in this stretch, and river elevation drops 17 rr. 

 (= 55 ft) between the eastern and western edges of the plot. Flows of the Kootenai 

 River are controlled by the pattern of discharge froiii Libby Dam (located approxiridtely 

 40 km = 25 mi,les upstream), and varied from in in^/sec (= 4,000 ff-^/sec) to 566 rrr'/sec 

 (= 20,000 ft"^/sec) during the study. Width of the river within the plot was approx- 

 imately 250 m (820 ft) at its widest point and 45 n; (= 111 ft) at its narrowest, 

 where it flows through a steep, rocky canyon. A nur.ber of islands, the larr;nst of 

 which is less than 2 ha (= 5 acres) in size, are found in the 400 m (= 1,112 ft) 

 stretch of the river iimiediately below the falls; th(.'Se islands, as well as all 

 water areas to the north of them, were excluded from the plot. A footbridge spans 

 the river at its narrowest point, approximately 500 m (^ 1,640 ft) from the weste-n 

 boundary of the plot. The land area included in this [ilot is that between the 

 southern bank of the Kootenai River and U.S. Highway ^2 to the south. This strip of 

 land is 300 m (= 984 ft) wide at its widest point and 70 m wide (= 230 ft) at its 

 narrowest point. A two-track Burlington Northern railroad roughly bisects this 

 land area lengthwise; these tracks were used by approximately one train/hour during 

 census runs. A telephone line and a 34.5 kilovolt powerline parallel this railroad, 

 resulting in a cleared corridor roughly 40 m (=131 ft) in width. Most of the 

 remainder of the plot is forested. A Lion's Club picnic area with a spring, wooden 

 tables, garbage receptacles, and outhouses is located along Highway 2 near the 

 center of the plot, and a 150 m (= 492 ft) loop road enters into the plot from 

 Highway 2 300 m (= 984 ft) from the eastern edge of the plot. Both areas wer-e 

 heavily used by picnickers, fishermen, and sightseers throughout the sumrier. An 

 abandoned forest road connects U.S. tt2 and the railroad right-of-way near the eastern 

 edge of the plot. At the western edge of the plot, the highway, railroad, and 

 telephone lines come togetner at the base of a steep, rocky cliff, and pass over a 

 nearly vertical concrete embankment which extends to the riverbank. Rocky outcrops 

 are common within the plot north of the railroad right-of-way. A number of wcry 

 small streams bisect the plot. Elevations range from 58H m (= 1,930 ft) to 640 m 

 (= 2,100 ft). A fairly steep bank rises between the railroad right-of-way and the 

 relatively flat bench to the south in the eastern 2/3 of the plot. Forests to the 

 north of this bank are fairly open and shrubby, with few large trees; forests to 

 the south are much more dense, with many tall trees and little understory vegetation. 

 The study area falls primarily within the western red cedar/gueencup beadlily 

 {Thuja plijata/Clintonia imiflora' habitat type (Pfister et al . 1977, Forest Habitat 

 Types of Montana, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment 

 Station, Ogden, Utah), although a gradation to the Douglas fir/ninebark ( P.- •> ;a. •'.,.:';.': u.ja 

 menziesii/PhysocarpuR r;)alva.;euu) habitat type is indicated along drier, exposed 

 ridges near the water's edge. The dominant canopy trees &re. Douglas fir, western 

 larch {iarix ocaidi-ntaiir.) , and western red cedar, and th(? most prominent shrubs are 

 Canadian buffaloberry {L'.lirj'her.iin. ccrr.adc^-.r.ir-) , chokcchor'ry {:'r'o:u:^ virnini'.cir. i) , 



136 



