The ownership pattern in the basin has had considerable effect on 

 resource development. Ownership and administration of land includes 

 34 percent private, 4 percent Indian tribal, 4 percent State of Montana, 

 52 percent National Forest, and 6 percent other Federal. 



Socio-Economic Dimensions of the Basin 



The 1970 population of the Clark Fork study area totaled 203,658 inhabi- 

 tants. The 50-year average annual population growth rate has been 

 roughly 0.7 percent, slightly higher than the State average of 0.5 

 percent for the same period, and considerably below the 50-year United 

 States average of 1.9 percent. 



In 1970 about 47 percent of the total population of the study area was 

 classified as rural and 53 percent urban. The 1930 rural-urban ratio for 

 the study area was the same as the present ratio, and it has not varied 

 greatly since that time. There has occurred, however, a modest increase 

 in the rural nonfarm population, a trend that is associated with subdivi- 

 sion of rural farmland. 



The Clark Fork study area, although more densely populated than the 

 average for the State of Montana is still considered very sparsely 

 populated. The average density for the study area as a whole was 9.5 in 

 1970, compared with 57 persons per square mile Nationally. However, a 

 rather different picture unfolds if the study area's populations are 

 divided by the amount of taxable private land. 



Population density Population density 

 Subarea based on total area based on private land 



Inhabitants per Square Mile 



Upper Clark Fork 12.1 27.8 



Lower Clark Fork 9.1 28.6 



Flathead 7.8 29.6 



TOTAL BASIN 9.5 28.6 



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