Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
U.S. Forest Service Improves Water Quality In Meadow Creek
Waterbody Improved
Excess sediment and habitat degradation in Meadow Creek caused
by forestry activities, eroding forest roads, and grazing in riparian
areas led to the stream not supporting its cold-water fisheries beneficial use. As a result, the Montana
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) added Meadow Creek to the state's Clean Water Act
(CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 1996. Starting in the late 1990s, the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) implemented grazing best management practices, improved forestry practices, and upgraded
roads to improve conditions in Meadow Creek. Recent data show that Meadow Creek now fully meets
its cold-water fishery use, prompting MDEQ to remove it from the state's impaired waters list in 2014.
Problem
Meadow Creek (MT76H002 _ 030) is a headwater
stream in the upper Bitterroot River watershed. It
originates at an elevation of 8,400 feet and flows
north for 10 miles before joining the East Fork of
the Bitterroot River (Figure 1). The Meadow Creek
subwatershed drains an area of 32 square miles.
All of the lands within the subwatershed are man-
aged by the USFS as part of the Bitterroot National
Forest. Meadow Creek is home to bull trout
(Salvelinus confluentus), an endangered species,
and to the westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus
clarki lew/si), a species of concern (as designated
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Meadow Creek is impacted by sediment runoff
from grazed areas and from eroding roads. Between
30 percent and 75 percent of the streambanks that
were surveyed in 1996 and 1997 showed evidence
of excessive trampling by livestock. In addition,
most of the forest roads were built between the
1950s and the late 1960s and contribute to exces-
sive erosion and runoff.
Montana has a narrative water quality standard for
sediment. This means that a variety of data and
observations are needed to determine if a stream
is water quality impaired due to sediment. Early
evaluations in 1988 by Bitterroot National Forest
staff indicated that aquatic stream life productivity,
based on aquatic insect diversity and streambed
composition, was lower than expected reference
conditions due to a high percentage of sand in the
streambed. On the basis of these observations,
MDEQ placed Meadow Creek on the Montana's
1996 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters,
Legend
Meadow Cr. Forest Roads
C3 Meadow Creek Watershed
Figurel. The Meadow Creek watershed is in the Bitterroot National
Forest in southwestern Montana.
noting that it was threatened for support of its
cold-water fishery beneficial use due to habitat
alterations from rangeland and forest roads. Further
sampling by the USFS in 2002 and 2003, and by
MDEQ in 2006 indicated water quality improvement,
but excess sediment was still present in the stream.
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Figure 2. Livestock grazing in the riparian area caused damage in
Meadow Creek (as seen on left, 2003). Partners installed fences
to exclude livestock. Within two growing seasons, streambank
vegetation had recovered (as seen on right, 2005).
Figure 3. Partners replaced a forest road culvert (left) with a new
bridge (right) over Meadow Creek. The bridge allows unimpeded
fish passage and reduces road-related sediment loads.
Project Highlights
USFS has conducted a significant number of
improvement projects in the Meadow Creek water-
shed since the late 1990s to reduce streamside
impacts of grazing cattle and improve water quality.
These efforts included adding an initial half-mile
of riparian fencing along Meadow Creek in 1996;
fencing along Bugle Creek in 2000; 1,700 more feet
of fencing in 2004; and 500 feet of fencing near
Balsam Creek in 2005, with additions in 2007, and
several slash fences created from cutting and felling
large trees to prevent livestock access to sensitive
Meadow Creek riparian areas (Figure 2). In addition,
during the 2004 restoration a stream crossing in
this area was hardened with logs, gravel and rock to
reduce sedimentation from livestock access.
Other improvements to reduce erosion and
improve habitat along Meadow Creek included
road upgrades, culvert and bridge improvements
or replacement, hardening of smaller stream
crossings, and livestock fords. The main road in
the Meadow Creek watershed was reconstructed
in 2004 to improve drainage and reduce erosion
by (1) adding gravel to the road surface for eight
miles where the stream closely paralleled Meadow
Creek, (2) modifying the outslope and crown of
the road to diffuse runoff, and reseeding roadside
disturbed areas to stabilize soils. Two culverts on
Meadow Creek were also replaced with bridges
(Figure 3) and an undersized culvert on Bugle Creek
was replaced with a culvert sized to accommodate
a 100-year flood. Lastly, several small crossings
on Meadow Creek and headwater tributaries were
hardened. Much of this work by the USFS was
supported by the development of a 2008 restora-
tion plan by MDEQ. This plan helped guide USFS
restoration work in subsequent years.
Results
In 2013, EPA and MDEQ reassessed the watershed
to determine if Meadow Creek was meeting its
beneficial uses. Habitat and sediment sampling
was conducted and it indicated that Meadow Creek
was meeting beneficial uses. Data used included
benthic macroinvertebrates, riffle pebble counts,
grid toss fine sediment, residual pool depths
and pool frequency. Sediment conditions within
Meadow Creek have improved primarily due to road
mitigation activities and additional grazing best
management practices (BMPs) implemented by
the USFS that addressed the remaining significant
sediment sources. On the basis of this assessment,
MDEQ removed Meadow Creek from the impaired
waters list in 2014. Continued use of management-
related BMPs, maintenance of existing on-the-
ground BMPs, and monitoring of grazing allotment
conditions by the USFS will help ensure conditions
remain stable and continue to improve.
Partners and Funding
The USFS Bitterroot National Forest was the primary
partner in this watershed restoration effort. They pro-
vided much of the planning, technical support, and
implementation of BMPs in the watershed, totaling an
approximate $539,000 investment. MDEQ also orga-
nized water quality planning efforts using an initial
$53,437 in EPA CWA section 319 funds (2001). Trout
Unlimited secured road BMP funding. Partners in the
water quality planning efforts were USFS; MDEQ;
Montana Department of Natural Resources and
Conservation; EPA; Tri-State Water Quality Council;
the Bitterroot Water Forum; Montana Fish, Wildlife
and Parks; University of Montana; Ravalli County
Planning Office and the Bitterroot Conservation
District. A technical advisory committee was formed
that consisted of representatives of these entities to
help prioritize and guide restoration efforts.
1
UJ
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-15-001G
January 2015
For additional information contact:
Robert Ray
Watershed Protection Section Manager
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
406-444-5319 • rray@mt.gov
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