Introduction 



describe the implications of those 

 changes. The streams evaluated in- 

 cluded "control" streams in undevel- 

 oped watersheds and test streams in 

 watersheds from which timber has been 

 harvested. The Flathead Lake Biologi- 

 cal Station conducted this study. 



(D) Fisheries Habitat and Fish Popula- 

 tions. This study, conducted by the 

 Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife 

 and Parks, examined cutthroat and bull 

 trout habitat and how changes in stream- 

 bottom sediment conditions are impor- 

 tant to populations of these species. 



(E) Application of the Montana Nonpoint 

 Source Stream Reach Assessment in 

 theFlatheadBasin. This module evalu- 

 ated impairment to beneficial uses in 

 the Flathead Basin and evaluated the 

 accuracy of the assessment procedure 

 by comparing its results with the re- 

 sults of quantitative studies performed 

 by other Cooperative Program mem- 

 bers. The Montana Department of 

 Health and Environmental Sciences 

 completed this assessment. 



(F) Assessments of Best Management 

 Practices. The University of Montana 

 School of Forestry conducted this inter- 

 disciplinary team review of completed 

 timber sales. The review evaluated the 

 success of implementing forestry Best 

 Management Practices (BMPs) forpre- 

 venting soil erosion and protecting 

 water quality. They examined fifty- 

 three field locations on a mix of land 

 ownership (federal, state, and private) 

 within the Flathead Basin. 



(G) Management Guidelines for Ripar- 

 ian Forests. This study module devel- 

 oped management guidelines or "rec- 

 ommended management practices" that 

 are specifically tailored to the wetland 



vegetation types found along stream 

 courses in the Flathead Basin. It also 

 determined field procedures for con- 

 sistent field identification of Stream- 

 side Management Zones and a soil ero- 

 sion risk matrix. 



(H) Application of the Sequoia Method 

 for Determining Cumulative Water- 

 shed Effects in the Flathead Basin. 

 This study assessed possible cumula- 

 tive effects in a watershed due to tim- 

 ber harvesting and road building ac- 

 tivities. The University of Montana 

 School of Forestry conducted this study. 



(I) A Forest Management Nonpoint 

 Source Risk Assessment Geographic 

 Information Systems Application. This 

 module developed a computer geo- 

 graphic display capability for a water- 

 shed risk assessment model based on a 

 variety of practices with risk assess- 

 ment for specific slopes and soils. This 

 methodology will be used to help evalu- 

 ate future management strategies for 

 individual watersheds. The University 

 of Montana School of Forestry con- 

 ducted this study. 



In addition, the study participants decided 

 that they needed a module to determine direct 

 linkages between timber harvest activities and 

 the presently used modeling and monitoring 

 methods. 



(J) LinearCorrelationlRegressionAnaly- 

 sis of Forestry Models, Risk Assess- 

 ment, and Water Quality and Fisher- 

 ies Data. Those working on this mod- 

 ule provided the current modeling and 

 monitoring data for testing relation- 

 ships with data from other modules in 

 the study, evaluated correlations of 

 variables currently available fi-om the 



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Flathead Basin Cooperative Program Final Report 



