accounted for some 2.3 16 acres of activity. The BLM has harvested a total of 874 acres. The 

 only harvest activity by the DNRC in the last several decades was 144 clearcut acres in 1986 and 

 35 acres of post and pole thinning in the 1990's. The USPS has harvested a total of 2.237acres in 

 Upper Willow Creek drainage. 1,384 acres of the USPS harvest total are the result of the recent 

 post and pole harvest, and the Alder-Niles and Upper Willow Timber Sales. 



The total acres harvested and miles of road constructed in Upper Willow Creek and each 

 tributary affected by the proposed action is summarized in the following table: 



Harvest history and road data were compiled using information obtained from the Deerlodge 

 National Porest Timber Stand Management Record System, Bureau of Land Management timber 

 sale records and timber sale contract maps, DNRC timber sale records and contract maps, USPS 

 aerial photography, DNRC Hazard Reduction Records and from field reconnaissance and field 

 mapping completed by DNRC hydrologist. 



Watershed analyses were completed for the entire Upper Willow Creek watershed and all of the 

 affected tributaries listed in the table above. These analyses were completed to determine the 

 existing watershed conditions and the potential for cumulative watershed impacts. 



The watershed analysis completed for the entire Upper Willow Creek drainage utilized the 

 WATSED computer model. Region lof the U.S. Porest Service and the Montana Cumulative 

 Watershed Effects Cooperative developed the WATSED model. The WATSED model estimates 

 natural water yield and sediment yield, and predicts increases in water and sediment yields due to 

 road construction and timber harvest. Sediment yield coefficients used were adopted and 



44 



