given for local value in more arid and/or remote portions of 

 Montana where a stream was important for recreation and/or 

 scientific or nature study. A stream reach containing essential 

 spawning habitat of a Class I or Class II sport fishery was 

 upgraded in the habitat and species value. Upgrading also 

 occurred if a reach was a spring creek. 



The sport fishery value of a stream reach was based on an 

 evaluation of these criteria: Fish abundance indicated by biomass 

 or by numbers and sizes of game fish; ingress; aesthetics, and 

 fishing pressure. These were the same criteria used in 1959 in 

 the first recreational fishery classification. 



WILDLIFE 



Not until the Council provided the impetus for evaluating the 

 natural resource values of Montana's rivers did the state initiate 

 the task of developing a statewide wildlife data base. This major 

 undertaking began under the guidance of an interagency task force 

 consisting of wildlife biologists and managers from the U.S. 

 Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service (USFWS), DNRC, and the MDFWP. The Montana 

 Rivers Study resulted in the compilation of dozens of habitat, 

 species and recreational variables for 400 river basin main stem 

 or sub-basin units. 



The first step in creating the wildlife data base was to 

 determine wildlife criteria to use in assessing the potential 

 effects of future hydroelectric development on wildlife species. 

 Review of the existing criteria from Montana's fisheries data 

 base, BLM's riparian data base, state or federal designations of 

 threatened and endangered species and species of special interest 

 or concern, resulted in several draft criteria and data collection 

 documents. These were reviewed, tested, and adopted by the 

 interagency task force. Wildlife resources were evaluated for 

 habitat and species values. Information on specific species 

 distributions or relative numbers for each assessment unit were 

 gathered in the "field" from Montana's technical wildlife people 

 within the USFS, BLM, and MDFWP. In addition, information was 

 collected from technical and annual reports, distribution studies 

 of the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MNHP 1987), and contacts 

 with resource experts. Boundaries for individual units were 

 determined by the interagency group of biologists as they worked 

 together on particular basins. 



The final habitat value for each assessment unit was based on 

 the highest rating of two categories. The habitat quality rating 

 depended primarily on the characteristics of the riparian zone. 

 Specific criteria included condition of the riparian zone, 

 diversity of vegetation types, and the relative abundance of 

 mature Cottonwood and coniferous forests, wetlands, and islands. 

 The more pristine and diverse the riparian community, the greater 



