Abstract
The Lolo National Forest spans about 2 million acres in western Montana, all within the Clark Fork watershed. As a multi-use land management agency, protecting and restoring watershed functions are high priorities for the Forest. Through various planning and implementation processes, the Lolo National Forest is able to prioritize projects that benefit water quality and cold-water fisheries habitat. Watershed restoration and rehabilitation activities are planned at both large, Forest-wide , and small, project-level scales. Two major drivers for planning watershed restoration are the State of Montana’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) planning process and the listing of bull trout as a threatened species in 1998. Since 2003, TMDLs have been completed in 6 planning areas for 24 streams on the forest. The Lolo National Forest has 18 separate bull trout subpopulations that are listed as “bull trout priority” watersheds.
Often with the help of partners, such as Trout Unlimited, the Lolo National Forest maintains a progressive and successful watershed restoration program. Restoration projects range from road decommissioning, to fish passage, to stream reconstruction, and beyond. With the aid of the Forest’s Watershed Improvement Tracking System, we are able to display accomplishments and track progress across the Forest. Highlighting accomplishments, the Upper Lolo Restoration Project is an example of a project addressing the recovery of bull trout and water quality by implementing road decommissioning and fish passage with local partners in a TMDL and bull trout priority watershed.
Start Date
5-3-2010 3:00 PM
End Date
5-3-2010 3:30 PM
Document Type
Presentation
Watershed Restoration on the Lolo National Forest, Benefits for the Clark Fork Watershed
The Lolo National Forest spans about 2 million acres in western Montana, all within the Clark Fork watershed. As a multi-use land management agency, protecting and restoring watershed functions are high priorities for the Forest. Through various planning and implementation processes, the Lolo National Forest is able to prioritize projects that benefit water quality and cold-water fisheries habitat. Watershed restoration and rehabilitation activities are planned at both large, Forest-wide , and small, project-level scales. Two major drivers for planning watershed restoration are the State of Montana’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) planning process and the listing of bull trout as a threatened species in 1998. Since 2003, TMDLs have been completed in 6 planning areas for 24 streams on the forest. The Lolo National Forest has 18 separate bull trout subpopulations that are listed as “bull trout priority” watersheds.
Often with the help of partners, such as Trout Unlimited, the Lolo National Forest maintains a progressive and successful watershed restoration program. Restoration projects range from road decommissioning, to fish passage, to stream reconstruction, and beyond. With the aid of the Forest’s Watershed Improvement Tracking System, we are able to display accomplishments and track progress across the Forest. Highlighting accomplishments, the Upper Lolo Restoration Project is an example of a project addressing the recovery of bull trout and water quality by implementing road decommissioning and fish passage with local partners in a TMDL and bull trout priority watershed.