18 



of mortalities, the stresses from sublethal oxygen levels may have 

 made fish more vulnerable to the other toxic agents --heavy metals and 

 TDS. 



Several basic questions must be answered if surface water 

 quality problems fostered by saline seep are to be dealt with: what 

 components of seep water are causing the damage; how severe is the 

 damage and what is the potential for spread; and how may damaged 

 waters be restored? 



The inaplications of seep-caused water pollution are clear. 

 Montana is a headwater recharge area for downstream states in the 

 Missouri River Basin, and any degradation of water quality here will 

 affect downstream uses. Unless saline seep is checked, present water 

 uses such as drinking, recreation, and fish and wildlife, will be 

 seriously degraded and water treatment will become more expensive. 



The effects of saline seep on wildlife habitat and populations 

 are even more uncertain. At the fringes of most seeps, salt-tolerant 

 weeds, mostly Kochia (Kochia scoparia or summer cypress), provide 

 some cover (and perhaps food) that would not otherwise be available (13). 

 The seep-affected area is within the range of upland game birds and 

 migrant waterfowl. In some cases seeps are providing habitat for 

 these game birds where none existed before (27). 



The major concern of the wildlife biologists is that seeps 

 may eventually destroy or greatly reduce the carrying capacity of the 



