Is Pattee Creek Ecologically Healthy?
| No stream has been formally designated as a reference
stream for Pattee Creek. Some creeks that have been suggested are
Deer Creek and Lavalle Creek. Lavalle has been characterized by the
Montana DEQ (see W. Bollman's thesis), and Pattee Creek compared to this
creek. One piece of evidence suggests that upper Pattee Creek may be
fairly healthy. The UM Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
found pure Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the creek in 1998 (Fred Allendorf).
This suggests that the upper creek is fairly healthy despite all the
impacts of development, roads, diversions, etc.
As the creek comes down into Missoula, however, it is much more severely impacted. Just downstream of Higgins Street, the creek is put into a channel that runs along 34th Street in straight line. According to Dr. James Habeck, Pattee Creek formerly flowed without a defined channel as a series of wetlands and ponds. The creek still has one pond at the corner of Stephens and 34th that supports a population of ducks and a great blue heron. From here, however, the creek is again channelized in a series of ditches and culverts and even runs through a concrete stretch on 33rd. This creek clearly cannot support a healthy fish population all the way down to the Bitterroot River, though there have been fish found in some stretches. In 1999 there were many places with garbage and little shade along the banks. (See slide show) Pattee Creek ends in a horse pasture and the creek, although dry (see history) for five years, has been severely trampled and degraded. The creek seems fairly healthy in the upper reaches, but becomes less healthy until it finally stops running before it reaches the Bitterroot River. |