STUDY AREA 



The Blackfoot River, located in west-central Montana, begins at the junction of 

 Beartrap and Anaconda Creeks, and flows west 132 miles from its headwaters near the 

 Continental Divide to its confluence with the Clark Fork River in Bonner, Montana 

 (Figure 2). 



This river system drains a 2,320 square mile watershed through a 3,700-niile 

 stream network of which 1,900 miles are perennial streams capable of supporting fishes. 

 Meein annual discharge is 1,607 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs). The physical geography of 

 the watershed ranges from high-elevation glaciated alpine meadows, timbered forests at 

 the mid-elevations to prairie pothole topography on the valley floor. Glacial landforms, 

 moraine and outwash, glacial lake sediments and erratic boulders cover the floor of the 

 entire Blackfoot River valley and exert a controlling influence on the habitat features of 

 the Blackfoot River and the lower reaches of most tributaries. The Blackfoot River is a 

 free flowing river to its confluence with the Clark Fork River where Milltown dam, a run- 

 of-the-river hydroelectric facility, creates Milltown Reservoir. Milltown dam has 

 blocked upstream fish passage on the Clark Fork River, affecting natural migrations 

 between the Clark Fork River and Blackfoot River since 1907. 



Land ownership in the Blackfoot watershed is 44% National Forest, 5% Bureau 

 of Land Management, 7% State of Montana, 20% Plum Creek Timber Company and 

 24% other private ownership. In general, public lands and large tracts of Plum Creek 

 Timber Company properties comprise large forested tracts in mountainous areas of the 

 watershed while private lands occupy the foothills and lower valley areas (Figure 2). 

 Traditional land-use in the basin includes mining, timber harvest, agriculture and 

 recreation activities, all of which have contributed to habitat degradation or fish 

 population declines. Of 88 inventoried streams, 83 have been altered, degraded or 

 otherwise identified as fisheries-impaired since inventories began in 1989. Restoration 

 has been directed to 37 of these streams. The majority of habitat degradation occurs on 

 valley floor and foothills of the Blackfoot watershed and largely on private agricultural 

 ranchlands. However, problems also extend to commercial timber areas, mining districts, 

 and state and federal public lands. 



Of 88 inventoried streams, we identified 83 as fisheries-impaired. Impaired 

 streams are located throughout the Blackfoot watershed, from the headwaters of the 

 drainage to the confluence of the Blackfoot River with the Clark Fork River. One 

 exception is the Clearwater River drainage with one stream (Blanchard Creek) included 

 in this report. Of the 88 streams inventoried, five were considered unimpaired either 

 naturally, from past restoration projects, or have yet to be evaluated for fisheries 

 impairment. Of the 83 impaired streams, 33 are project streams. Restoration projects are 

 concentrated in the lower Blackfoot River drainage from the North Fork downstream, but 

 also include areas in the lower Nevada Creek valley and upper Blackfoot Valley near 

 Lincoln. Non-project streams are generally located in the upper Blackfoot drainage 

 upstream of the North Fork and throughout the Garnet Mountains in the southern region 

 of the Blackfoot watershed. 



The Blackfoot River is one of twelve renowned "blue-ribbon" trout rivers in 

 Montana with an appropriated "Murphy" instream flow water right. The Montana Fish, 

 Wildlife and Parks manages the Blackfoot River and tributaries for a diversity of self- 



