Some algae, such as the filamentous greens, are conspicuous 

 and their excessive growth may be aesthetically displeasing, 

 deplete dissolved oxygen, interfere with fishing and fish 

 spawning, clog water filters and irrigation intakes, create 

 tastes and odors in drinking water, and cause other problems. 



PROJECT AREA AND SAMPLING SITES 



The project area is located in Powell County near the small, 

 unincorporated community of Ovando, Montana. Ward Creek heads in 

 foothills at the southern end of the Swan Range at an elevation 

 of about 5,000 feet and flows southwest for about 10 miles into 

 the Blackfoot River Valley, where it drains into Browns Lake. 

 Browns Lake empties into Kleinschmidt Lake and thence to the 

 North Fork of the Blackfoot River. 



The Ward Creek watershed is almost entirely within the 

 Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion (Woods et al . 

 1999) . Ward Creek heads in Precambrian Belt Series rocks and 

 flows for most of its length over unconsolidated valley fill of 

 Pleistocene age (Renfro and Feray 1972) . Vegetation is mixed 

 conifer forest in the headwaters and fescue grassland along the 

 lower reaches of Ward Creek (USDA 1976) . 



Periphyton samples were collected at two sites on June 20, 

 2001 (Table 1) . The upper site (WardC-01) is located just below 

 the Helena National Forest boundary at an elevation of about 

 5,000 feet (Map 1). The lower site (WardC-02) is located just 

 above the confluence of Ward Creek with Browns Lake at an 

 elevation of about 4,200 feet (Map 1) . 



Land use in the Ward Creek watershed is mostly livestock and 

 wildlife grazing and recreation. Ward Creek is classified B-1 in 

 the Montana Surface Water Quality Standards. 



