DRAINAGE SUMMARIES 



In order to present the natural resource data and results of the 

 Montana Rivers Study, the state was divided into 12 drainages 

 along drainage lines and geographic boundaries (Figure 1). The 

 12 drainages were the Kootenai; the upper Flathead and the Swan; 

 the upper Clark Fork to the Bitterroot; the lower Clark Fork to 

 the Idaho border; the Big Hole and Beaverhead drainages; the 

 Missouri headwaters including the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson; 

 the upper Missouri to the Smith; the Rocky Mountain Front 

 drainages; the central Missouri to Fort Peck Reservoir; the lower 

 Missouri to the North Dakota border; the upper Yellowstone to the 

 Bighorn; and the lower Yellowstone to the North Dakota border. 

 Data were summarized for each resource area independently and 

 presented in each section in the following order: introduction to 

 drainage, fisheries, wildlife, recreation, botanical features and 

 geologic features. Due to concern over potential vandalism 

 created by the identification of the cultural resource site 

 locations, the cultural data will not be presented in this report. 



Because of the number of reference documents used to 

 complete the drainage summaries, the literature citations were not 

 identified in the text. Instead, the literature citations follow 

 the text with subheadings by drainage and by resource area. 



31 



