This project was funded by a Big Sky Watershed Corps Project Support grant from the MWCC Watershed Fund.
Project Description
Location: Pattee Creek in the Bitterroot River Watershed
This is the third phase of the Pattee Creek Restoration Project, which aims to revegetate the majority of Pattee Creek in Missoula, Montana to restore the creek closer to its more natural function. This project will include and expand upon the previous phases of the project, including Phase 1, which was also funded by the MWCC Watershed Fund, by extending the project location to along Bancroft Street and Cutty Corner and by proposing the addition of woody debris and rocks within the stream channel. The purpose of these elements is to create more diverse aquatic habitat and improve habitat structure.
Although portions of Pattee Creek have previously been restored, there remain large portions of Pattee Creek that have not been restored and many neighbors still mow up to the water’s edge. We will continue to develop outreach to landowners along Pattee Creek by handing out educational materials and coordinating a public meeting. Throughout the spring and summer, volunteers will be recruited for two restoration events in the fall, one along Pattee Creek (specific location dependent upon landowner participation) where invasive vegetation will be removed and replaced with native vegetation and small logs and rocks will be placed within the stream channel, and one at Cutty Corner where native vegetation will be planted along the pond’s perimeter. These efforts directly address nonpoint source pollution by shading the stream channel to reduce temperatures and filtering road runoff to decrease sedimentation. The addition of stones and logs will improve aquatic habitat and attenuate flow, thus lessening erosion within the stream channel.
Healthy riparian guidebooks and informational brochures will be provided to landowners through door-to-door communication and the public landowner meeting. Property owners are essential to the future of Pattee Creek’s stream health as they will be responsible for maintenance within the right of way per Missoula Municipal Code Chapter 12.48. Additionally, a riparian assessment will be completed within the project area prior to the plantings to determine current stream conditions, including the extent of downcutting and lateral cutting, diversity and canopy cover of vegetation, and sediment and energy capture, to compare current ecological conditions to those of past phases of this project. Determining current stream conditions is a critical component in the decision-making process and is essential for setting project goals and objectives. Although enough time has not passed to see meaningful changes at Pattee Creek, a small stream, such as Pattee, is more susceptible to significant changes from year to year compared to larger rivers.
Project Outcomes and Impacts
Project in progress