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 irrigation intakes, create tastes and odors in 

 drinking water, and cause other problems. 



PROJECT AREA AND SAMPLING SITES 



The project area is located in southern Park County in 

 southcentral Montana. Bear Creek heads in the Absaroka-Beartooth 

 Wilderness, flows south past the mining town of Jardine, and 

 enters the Yellowstone River about two miles east of Gardiner, 

 Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park (Map 1) . 



The Bear Creek watershed is within the Middle Rockies 

 Ecoregion of North America (Woods et al . 1999) . The surface 

 geology consists of Lower Tertiary volcanic rocks with granitic 

 intrusives, and undifferentiated Precambrian metamorphic rocks 

 (Renfro and Feray 1972) . Vegetation is alpine tundra in the 

 headwaters, mixed conifer forest at middle elevations, and mixed 

 grassland at lower elevations (USDA 1976) . 



A single periphyton sample was collected at a site near the 

 mouth of Bear Creek on July 13, 2000 (Map 1) . This site is 

 situated at an elevation of 5,300 feet at Latitude 45 01 55 

 North, Longitude 110 39 56 West. Bear Creek is classified B-1 in 

 the Montana Surface Water Quality Standards. 



METHODS 



The periphyton sample was collected by Patrick Newby of the 

 MDEQ Monitoring and Data Management Bureau following standard 

 operating procedures of the MDEQ Planning, Prevention, and 

 Assistance Division. 



