Bald Eagles make their home along the banks of the Musselshell River. Riparian areas begin to establish in the dry bed of the Musselshell River during recent drought years. The natural resource assessment of the Musselshell River was completed in May of 2002. The written report will soon be ready for publication. Once that is done it can be used by landowners, conservation districts and city residents as a reference in determining what can be done for natural resource issues in the watershed. From the merging of the North and South Forks to the mouth of Flatwillow Creek, the assessment team found the river channel in varying degrees of stability. Some of the more unstable reaches with eroding banks occur where the natural floodplains were cut off due to highway and railroad construction. Maintaining a healthy riparian zone adjacent to the river channel is critical for long-term stability. Some reaches offer an opportunity to reestablish the river into a previously abandoned channel or to remove floodplain barriers. Other impacts include some irrigation diversions and bridges. Evaluations at some of these structures need to be made to determine if cost-effective modifications can be made to maintain their purpose but reduce their impacts on river stability. Noxious weed infestations are prevalent in many areas along the river, indicating instability. These weeds include leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, Canadian thistle, Russian olive and saltcedar. An expansion of the multi-landowner weed groups would be beneficial in addressing this resource issue. Spotted knapweed growing on the edge of a Musselshell River bank. Water quality and flow sampling was done at 12 sites along the river and at the mouths of 11 tributary streams. Flow in the Musselshell River showed a decreasing trend from upstream to downstream, and salt and nutrient concentrations tended to increase. The metals aluminum, iron and manganese followed the same pattern in increasing concentrations downstream. The Musselshell River is currently on the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s list of impaired streams scheduled to have a TMDL plan in place by 2006. The Musselshell River Assessment Report will be a valuable tool for a restoration plan to achieve a healthy watershed community in the Musselshell Valley. Home | Conservation District | Newsletter | Outdoor Classroom | Related Links Site Design by Bull Mountain Brokerage & Design Copyright © 2000-2003, All Rights Reserved. No images, content or layout may be used or reproduced Original photo credits © Alice Wolff unless otherwise noted.