by Michael Howell
Tolan Creek, a tributary to the East Fork of the Bitterroot River, is a textbook case of the kind of havoc that can be wreaked across an entire watershed in the aftermath of a forest wildfire. The Bitterroot Water Partnership in partnership with the Bitterroot National Forest are working on an ambitious restoration project to restore the devastated ecosystem left behind by the Trail Ridge Fire of 2022 over the course of the next four years.
Tolan Creek, a tributary to the East Fork of the Bitterroot River, is a textbook case of the kind of havoc that can be wreaked across an entire watershed in the aftermath of a forest wildfire.
The Trail Ridge Fire was first reported burning on August 26, 2022 northwest of Wisdom. By November 11, it had burned over 18,000 acres of forest. In the Tolan Creek drainage about 5,000 acres burned and 62% of the watershed experienced moderate to severe burning. But this was just the beginning of some major repercussions.
Miles of streamside were wiped clean of bankside vegetation, leaving no shade to keep the water temperature down. The rocky streambed itself was expanded, creating lower flows and exposing more of it to the hot summer sun. Photo courtesy of BWP.
It was over six months after the fire was extinguished that someone noticed the East Fork of the Bitterroot River was running chocolate brown. The source of the muddy runoff was tracked back to Tolan Creek. The Trail Ridge Fire had destroyed so much of the vegetation and soil organic matter that, when heavy rains descended upon the snow packed ground in June of 2023, it unleashed widespread debris flows that scoured the remaining riparian vegetation and fallen timber, causing the failure of several road stream crossings and completely blocking a major culvert midway down the drainage, smothering the creek in tons of sediment.
Members of the Bitterroot Water Partnership realized right away the significance of the catastrophic events and the enormity of the impacts it would have on the wildlife in the drainage and beyond, including bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, elk, moose, and so many other wildlife species. Miles of streamside were wiped clean of bankside vegetation, leaving no shade to keep the water temperature down. The rocky streambed itself was expanded, creating lower flows and exposing more of it to the hot summer sun.
BWP teamed up immediately with the Bitterroot National Forest Aquatic Team and designed an aggressive four-year restoration plan covering close to 150 acres that is set to start this season. The project will restore floodplain connectivity, enhance fish and wildlife habitats, improve water quality, and increase groundwater recharge by returning naturally slower stream flows.
BWP hopes to work with the Bitterroot National Forest to restore flow and drainage patterns across 9.4 miles of road by removing failing culverts, and stabilizing stream channels with low-tech engineering processes that mimic natural features. These stabilization efforts will protect critical Bull Trout spawning and rearing habitats, reduce sediment pollution (dust and debris causing muddy waters), and allow for recovery of native plant communities.
Other efforts include re-contouring of valley bottoms, installation of floodplain features that will slow water, allowing it to sink down and recharge groundwater, and naturally crafted in-stream structures that prevent continued extreme erosion of banksides.
“We are not just focusing on the stream itself,” said BWP Director Heather Barber. “We are looking at it wholistically. We are looking at associated meadows and floodplain. We can recycle debris trapped on site and relocate it into the stream and, without the use of heavy machinery, create ‘beaver dam analogues’ that will slow the water down, trap sediment, recharge the ground water in the area and give the wildlife and vegetation a chance to re-establish themselves.”
Plans call for recycling debris from massive log jams without the use of heavy machinery and redistributing along the stream creating “beaver dam analogues” that will slow the water down, trap sediment, recharge the ground water in the area and give the wildlife and vegetation a chance to re-establish themselves.” Photo courtesy of BWP.
A shadow has recently been cast over the project, however, as the 11-member BNF Aquatic Team working on watershed improvement projects across the forest has been drastically reduced as a result of Trump’s executive orders aimed at reducing the federal workforce.
“Changes at the federal level involving funding cuts and employee reductions are going to impact us. We will have to do more with less,” said Barber. She said that BWP remains wholly committed to the project, but it does mean that more weight may fall on their group to see the plan through in terms of oversight, on-the-ground work and fundraising than they had planned. They have already brought in some additional funding from a Montana Department of Environmental Quality grant for improving and protecting water quality but more funds will be needed as the project is estimated to have a total price tag of over $100,000.
“Fish will breed here again,” said Barber. “Elk will find refuge along the lush streamside and wetland. Restoration at these headwaters will have cascading benefits for miles of habitat downstream.”
Anyone wanting more information about the project or looking to volunteer or donate to the cause can contact Barber at (406) 375-2272 or email info@bitterrootwater.org.