1 . STREAM 



Wil low Creek 



2. DESCRIPTION 



Willow Creek originates on the west slope of the Anaconda-Pintlar 

 range at the Continental Divide. The stream flows in a northerly direction 

 for approximately 12 miles to its juncture with Silver Bow Creek, a 

 tributary of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River. Major tributaries of 

 Willow Creek include Long Canyon, Elk and the West Fork of Willow Creek. 

 The 25.5 square mile drainage is characterized by steep heavily timbered 

 north-facing slopes, open grasslands, and agricultural lands as the elevation 

 decreases. Headwater regions are vegetated with heavy coniferous growth 

 and aspen thickets while lower regions are bordered by a narrow riparian 

 zone of willow and alder and open grasslands. The upper forested region 

 contains several revegetated clear-cuts and the riparian zone is marked 

 by numerous beaver ponds. The average gradient of the 11 foot wide channel 

 is 29.9 feet per 1,000 feet. Ownership of the upper drainage is held by 

 MDFWP while the lower reaches of the stream are privately owned. 



Lands within the Willow Creek drainage are used for recreational 

 hunting, fishing and winter sports. The drainage contains areas of important 

 deer and moose winter range (Frisina, personal communication). Fishing 

 pressure on Willow Creek from May, 1975 to April 1976 was estimated at 560 

 fisherman days (MDFWP, 1976). This converts to approximately 47 fisherman 

 days/stream mile/year. Past and present commercial uses of the drainage 

 include timber harvest, livestock grazing and diversion of water for 

 irrigation. 



Chemical analyses were performed on water samples collected from 

 Willow Creek during the summer of 1980. The data indicates that Willow Creek 

 is a calcium-sodium-bicarbonate water of slightly basic pH. Specific 

 conductance, alkalinity, hardness and dissolved solids were generally higher 

 than values obtained from Mount Haggin streams that originate high on the 

 east slope of the Anaconda-Pintlar range. Water quality was generally good 

 with the exception of suspended sediment and dissolved arsenic levels. 

 Elevated sediment levels were measured on the second day following a summer 

 rain shower. The origin of the sediment is believed to be the eroded slopes 

 in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Mountain. Arsenic levels were the highest 

 measured in any Mount Haggin stream. A low flow concentration of 40.6 

 ug/1 approached the maximum level of 50 ug/1 accepted by the Environmental 

 Protection Agency for drinking water (USEPA, 1976). The source of the 

 arsenic is believed to be precipitates from the Anaconda Smelter. 



3. FISHERIES 



A 1,000 foot section of Willow Creek was electrof ished on August 5 

 and August 19, 1980. Game fish captured in descending order of abundance 

 were brook trout and cutthroat trout. Mottled sculpins and longnose suckers 

 were the only nongame species collected. Electrof ishing survey data are 

 summarized in Table 30. 



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