period, and damage (hoof-shear) to stream banks. Livestock have since been fenced from 

 the riparian area. The survey site at mile 0.8 was not subject to streamside livestock 

 damage. 



Water temperature monitoring shows moderately significant declines (Paired t- 

 test; P = 0.08) following reconstruction, with maximum water temperatures -15" F cooler 

 post-project compared with pre-project. Whirling disease sampling shows continued high 

 infection (results Part IV). 



McCabe Creek 



Restoration objective: restore instream flows and habitat conditions for bull trout and 

 WSCT. 



Project Summary 



McCabe Creek, a cold basin-fed tributary to lower Dick Creek entering at stream 

 mile 3.8, is located in the Monture Creek bull trout recovery area. McCabe Creek begins 

 as a steep mountain stream in its headwaters, before entering knob-and-kettle topography 

 in the lower basin. In lower reaches, McCabe Creek passes through a beaver- influenced 

 wetland bog before entering Dick Creek, a lower tributary to Monture Creek, entering at 

 stream mile 3.8. 



McCabe Creek has a long history of adverse fisheries impacts related to channel 

 alterations and agricultural activities. These include intensive riparian grazing, physical 

 alterations to the channel, poorly designed road crossings, chronic dewatering, and fish 

 losses to irrigation ditches. 



A comprehensive restoration project for McCabe Creek began in 1999 and was 

 completed in 2002. This project: 1) consolidated four irrigation ditches into one pipeline 

 and screened the intake; 2) converted flood to sprinkler irrigation; 3) restored habitat 

 conditions including the placement of instream wood and shrub plantings along 1/2 mile 

 of stream; 4) incorporated necessary riparian livestock management changes; and 5) 

 replaced a county road culvert with an open-bottom box culvert. In 2001-02, the project 

 completed the irrigation conversion, developed off-stream livestock watering, and 

 reconstructed -1/2 mile of stream channel. Post-project monitoring has identified 

 excessive livestock access, damaging portions of the newly constructed stream. 



Fish Populations 



Benefits to fish population 

 relate to increasing stream flows, 

 reducing water temperatures in Dick 

 Creek, eliminating WSCT losses to 

 ditches, and restoring habitat 

 complexity to a damaged stream 

 channel. 



McCabe Creek is a WSCT 

 dominated stream, with decreased 

 densities of brook trout in lower stream 

 reaches. Due to cool summer 



Catch/1 00 feet 



LJBrooK trout 

 IcutthroA Iroit 



1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 



Figure 27. CPUE for all salmonids sampled in 

 McCabe Creek at mile 2.3, 1999-2003 



42 



