In addition to hunting, fishing and trapping, the Mount Haggin property 

 is used for winter recreation in the form of cross-country skiing and particu- 

 larly snowmobiling. MDFWP has provided a parking area and access that is 

 heavily used by snowmobi lers. 



Past Commercial Use 



The Mount Haggin area has played an important historical role in the 

 commercial development of the Anaconda area. Placer gold mining was succeeded 

 by logging and finally livestock grazing in the economic development of the 

 Mount Haggin drainages (Newell, 1980). Gold deposits discovered in French 

 Creek in 1864, yielded between $1 and $5 million in the first four years they 

 were worked (Lyden, 1948). By 1877, gold mining by rocker and sluice box were 

 replaced by hydraulic mining operations, dredges and underground load mines. 

 Gold placer operations were also located on Oregon, California and Beefstraight 

 Creeks on the Mount Haggin area. 



Commercial timber harvest began in the area in the Mill Creek canyon 

 along the Continental Divide in 1883. The area was clear cut and has not 

 reforested to date. Between 1906 and 1915 approximately 79 million board 

 feet of timber were harvested from the French Gulch vicinity to provide 

 cordwood and mine stulls to the Anaconda Company (Newell 1980). At the 

 completion of the French Gulch timber harvest in 1917, livestock grazing 

 became the principal commercial practice on the Mount Haggin area and persisted 

 through the purchase of the land by the MDFWP- 



Commercial utilization of the Mount Haggin streams followed the 

 commercial development of the area. Hydraulic gold mining of placers 

 required the concentration of large amounts of water on gravel beds or 

 benches. One such hydraulic operation in French Gulch used water diverted 

 from American, California and Oregon Creeks. Mount Haggin water was also 

 diverted to transport timber from French Gulch to a site near Anaconda. 

 Water was diverted from American, California, Mill and other streams to 

 a massive flume that was used to float the timber (Newell, 1980). Finally, 

 water from many of the Mount Haggin streams was diverted to irrigate crops 

 or grasslands as ranching became the primary commercial use of the area. 



Present Commercial Use 



Present commercial activities taking place on the Mount Haggin area 

 include livestock grazing and timber harvest. At the time of the land 

 acquisition by the MDFWP, a five year grazing contract with the Mount Haggin 

 Livestock Company was in effect. The contract was renegotiated in 1981 

 and calls for a three pasture rest-rotation grazing system for 4,000 animal 

 unit months through a four month grazing season. The three pastures repre- 

 sent a limited segment of the Mount Haggin area. 



A timber harvest contract with the Louisiana Pacific Corporation was 

 also in effect at the time of the Mount Haggin purchase. The contract calls 

 for the harvest of merchantable timber, roundwood and pulpwood and will be 

 in effect for approximately seven more years. The Mount Haggin interim 

 management plan calls for the implementation of each contract with the 

 minimum impact to the resource allowable under the terms of the contract. 



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