Bear Creek " j 



Restoration Objectives: Restore habitat degraded by historical activities in the channel, 

 restore fish passage and thermal refligia, and improve recruitment of trout to the 

 Blackfoot River. 



Project Summary ■ ^ 



Bear Creek, a small 2nd order tributary to the lower Blackfoot River, flows six 



miles north to its mouth where it enters the Blackfoot River at river mile 12.2 with a base 



flow of 3-5 cfs. Bear Creek is one of the colder tributaries to the lower Blackfoot River. 



For August 2002 and 2003, mean daily temperatures (mile 1.0) were in the low 50's with 



maximum summer temperature -6° F cooler than the Blackfoot River at the USGS 



gauging station at river mile 7.9 (Appendix H). 



Bear Creek has a long history of adverse habitat changes. These include 



placement of undersized culverts, road drainage and siltation, irrigation, channelization of 



the stream, excessive riparian grazing and streamside timber harvest (Pierce et al. 1 997; 



Pierce and Schmetterling 1999). At least one road crossing is still considered a barrier to 



movement. These fisheries impairments contributed to the loss of migration corridors 



and the simplification and degradation of salmonid habitat. Projects completed included: 



1) upgrading culverts and addressing road drainage problems; 2) improving water control 



structures at 



irrigation 



diversions; 3) 



reconstructing 



2,000' of channel; 



4) enhancing habitat 



complexity on an 



additional 2,000' of 



stream; 5) shrub 



plantings; and 6) the 



development of 



compatible riparian 



grazing systems for 



one mile of stream. 



1998 1999 



2000 



2001 2002 



2003 



2004 2005 



Figure 15. Total trout densities (all trout >4.0") for Bear Creek at mile 1.1, 

 1998-2005 



Fish Populations ' • " • 



Bear Creek supports populations of rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout, 



along with WSCT in the upper basin and very low densities of juvenile bull trout. Bear 



Creek is an increasingly important spawning and rearing tributary to the lower Blackfoot 



River sport fishery. 



In 2004 and 2005, we continued fish population monitoring in a reconstructed 



section of Bear Creek. The results of the CPUE analysis are shown in Figure 15. These 



monitoring results show an upward trend in the densities of larger (fish >4.0') fish, 



primarily rainbow trout (Appendix B). 



At stream mile 1.1, we tested for whirling disease in 2004, the results of which 



were negative. We also monitored water temperatures (Appendix H), and completed a 



27 



