and spruce (older trees ranging from 100 to nearly 200 years old), a dense understory of 

 deciduous shrubs, younger spruce trees, and many types of herbaceous communities (cattail, 

 sedge, grasses). The island contains a few abandoned river channels. The island lies between the 

 highly active or "delta" section of the Flathead River and its confluence widi die Stillwater River. 

 At this confluence, die Flathead River becomes a wide, single channel, meandering river system. 

 The highly braided channel area north of die Morris Island is caused by die change in gradient 

 between the upper and lower Flathead River systems. 



The lower portion of the Flathead River from Flathead Lake up to this braided river section is 

 influenced by Kerr dam. The (^ration of Kerr Dam maintains hi^er dian normal water levels in 

 the Flathead River mainstem during the summer mondis. One can see bodi die erosional aspects 

 of the higher water levels (as well as of normal river channel activity) as well as the depositional 

 aspects from the i^iper river on the Island. 



The dynamic and unpredictable nature of this river section has helped nmintain diis island's 

 relatively undisturbed nature. As a result, Morris Island supports some of die best and last 

 examples of undisturbed mature and old growdi riparian forest and high quality riparian habitats 

 widiin die entire upper Fladiead mainstem corridor. 



■'■"ihm ■" 



The Morris Island is adjacent to various types of public and private lands. The Flathead National 

 Forest (FNF) owns approximately 18 acres on the north end of Morris Island. FNF is in die 

 process of exchanging their Fladiead River tracts to FWP. To the nordieast of Morris, along 

 Brenneman's Slough, anodier 12 acres of riparian forest was donated to FWP. Fladiead County 

 Parks and Recreation owns an undeveloped parcel on Leisure Island northwest of Morris (Fig. 2). 

 The Department of State Lands owns approximately 442 acres of state land upstream of die 

 proposed project. This area was designated in die late I970's as Montana's first State Natural 

 Area. The 442 acre parcel has been leased by Fladiead County in die past; however, diis lease 

 was recentiy transferred to die Fladiead Audubon Society. 



In 1995, FWP agreed to purchase approximately 73 acres of die nearby CorieU Island from die 

 Fladiead Land Trust. The final approval for diis project is awaiting determination by DNRC to 

 their claim to all or a portion of this island. 



rV. MANAGEMENT OBJECnVES -tr e. 



A. Maintain/Enhance Habitat Values and Ecosystem Functions 



The major purpose of diis land acquisition is to ensure die long-term protection and 

 maintenance of die riparian/ wedand values and die dynamic ecosystem functions 

 associated widi river islands. The Morris Island presendy supports a wide variety of 

 riparian and wedand habitats typical of river bottom forest including gravel and sand bars, 

 backwater channels, cattail and sedge marshes, dense riparian shrub cover types, and 

 young to very mature cottonwood/spruce forest. The following description represents die 

 key aquatic, wedand, and riparian habitats and general fish and known wildlife values 

 associated widi these habitat types. 



1. Aquatic Habitat Types 



The island provides a diversity of shoreline habitats from hi^-gradient gravel-bottomed 

 channels (upstream end) to shallow or deep mud-bottomed channels or slou^. These 



B2 



