herons. In addition, the river system's backwater areas, spring 

 creeks and channels provide important resting and wintering 

 habitat for waterfowl, and supports one of the highest river otter 

 populations in Montana. 



Recently, the Northwest Power Planning Council adopted an 

 impressive wildlife mitigation plan for Hungry Horse Reservoir. 

 This program targets protection of more than 9,000 acres of 

 grizzly and black bear low elevation/riparian habitat through 

 conservation easements and fee-title acquisitions mostly within 

 the North and Middle Fork drainages. This project, in conjunction 

 with lands already acquired by the U.S. Forest Service along the 

 wild and scenic corridors, will protect some of the best wildlife 

 habitat associated with major valley river systems in western 

 Montana. 



Probably the most unique and least disturbed river section in 

 the upper Flathead that received a Class I in both habitat and 

 species is the 15-mile section of the Swan River from Swan Lake to 

 Squaw Creek. This reach supports critical habitat for bald eagles 

 and grizzly bears, and contains both a 1,778-acre National 

 Wildlife Refuge and 400-acre Nature Conservancy Area. 



Recreation 



The Montana Rivers Study inventoried the recreational 

 attributes and values of 27 river segments in the upper Flathead 

 River drainage -- about 374 miles of river, three percent of the 

 12,528 miles studied statewide. Much of the best recreational 

 water in the drainage is excluded from the study because it lies 

 within wilderness areas, the Wild and Scenic River System, and 

 Glacier National Park. 



Managers and river users rated two percent of the drainage's 

 river miles as Class I (Outstanding), 19 percent as Class II 

 (Substantial), 48 percent as Class III (Moderate) and 28 percent 

 as Class IV (Limited) (Table 22). Scenic quality of the mountains 

 and surrounding areas and good fishing were the two most common 

 reasons in assigning value classes by raters. Several segments 

 were downgraded for having few recreational values, and several 

 were described as meandering streams. 



Use was heavy on just three percent of the river miles and low 

 on 18 percent, with 41 percent of the river mileage described as 

 having moderate levels of recreational use. Scenic quality was 

 rated as Substantial to Outstanding on 36 percent of this region's 

 river miles, highlighting this component of recreational value. 

 However, 31 percent of the mileage was said to have less than 

 moderate scenic quality. 



Access was rated as abundant or moderate for about 45 percent 

 of the river miles, while about 50 percent of the rivers statewide 

 had these levels of access. Another 25 percent was rated as having 



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