Renee Hanna Lost Bear Timber Sale EA - Attachment C 



2/24/03 

 Page 1 of 6 



Lost Bear Watershed and Fisheries Report 



Issues 



1) Management activities associated with this project may increase water yield 

 which could result in channel instability and increased sediment yield to stream 

 channels. 



1 ) New road construction, road use and timber harvest may increase sediment yield. 



Watershed- Existing Conditions 



The proposed timber sale is located on two different school trust sections in Bear Creek 

 and Fish Creek and several unnamed tributaries and discontinuous ephemeral draws. 

 There is no direct conveyance of concentrated surface flow from these discontinuous 

 ephemeral draws to the Blackfoot River. Fish creek and Bear Creek are both tributaries to 

 the Blackfoot River. Ownership in these watersheds is a mixture of State Trust Lands, 

 Plum Creek and private. The proposed harvest area in section 14 T14N, R14W lies 

 within an unnamed tributary to Bear Creek. Bear Creek drains approximately 3746 acres. 

 Harvest areas within the watershed are drained by the unnamed tributary as well as 

 several well-defined ephemeral draws. Several of these draw features contain seeps and 

 springs that feed short segments of perennial channel flow. However, there is no 

 evidence of direct or continuous flow to Bear Creek itself The draw features either open 

 onto flat bench landscapes with dispersed overland flow or concentrated surface flows go 

 subsurface while still confined in draw bottoms. There is no direct conveyance of 

 concentrated surface flow from this area to the Blackfoot River. There are no stream 

 channels or evidence of concentrated surface runoff in the segments of these draws 

 within or immediately down slope of State ownership. 



The proposed harvest area in section 36 T14N, R14W is located in the headwaters of the 

 Fish Creek watershed. Fish Creek drains a watershed area of approximately 3064 acres. 

 Flows are perennial in the upper portion of the watershed and intermittent in the lower 

 watershed. There is one draw in the upper portion of the watershed that contributes 

 perennial surface flow to Fish Creek. There are a few well-defined ephemeral draws that 

 drain harvest areas in section 36. Stream flow is impounded in a series of small irrigation 

 reservoirs located on the Potter ranch in the lower watershed. There is a man-made 

 wetland in the headwaters that contributes surface flow to an unnamed tributary of Bear 

 Creek. 



Direct, indirect and cumulative effects as a result of past management activities are low 

 to moderate. Historic timber harvest has increased water yield. However, existing 

 channel conditions are good within the proposed project area. The stream channel is 

 functioning properly and the banks are well vegetated and stable. 



Water Quality Existing Conditions and Beneficial Uses 



