Silver Bow Creek Watershed Restoration Plan (Final) December 2005 Prepared For: State of Montana Natural Resource Damage Program Prepared by: Montana Natural Resource Damage Program P.O. Box 201425 Helena, MT 59620 Confluence Consulting, Inc. P.O. Box 1133 Bozeman, MT 59771-1133 DTM Consulting, Inc. 211 N. Grand Ave., Suite J Bozeman, MT 59715 i Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Basis for Developing the Watershed Restoration Plan..................................... 13 1.2 Goals of the Watershed Restoration Plan ......................................................... 15 1.3 Objectives of the Watershed Restoration Plan.................................................. 15 1.4 Document Organization.................................................................................... 15 1.5 Using this Document......................................................................................... 17 2.0 Background Information.................................................................................... 18 2.1 Environmental History of Silver Bow Creek Watershed.................................. 18 2.2 History of Silver Bow Creek Watershed Cleanup Efforts................................ 20 3.0 Watershed Planning and Restoration Concepts .............................................. 39 3.1 Characteristics and Benefits of a Healthy Watershed....................................... 39 3.2 Watershed Planning .......................................................................................... 40 3.3 Watershed Restoration Strategies ..................................................................... 41 3.4 Watershed Planning and Restoration Concepts for Silver Bow Creek............. 44 4.0 Methods................................................................................................................ 45 4.1 Public Involvement Plan................................................................................... 45 4.2 Data Compilation and Review.......................................................................... 47 4.3 Data Analysis.................................................................................................... 48 4.4 Determination of Restoration Priorities............................................................ 57 5.0 Vision for Silver Bow Creek............................................................................... 63 5.1 Visioning Process.............................................................................................. 63 5.2 Vision Statement............................................................................................... 64 6.0 Watershed Overview .......................................................................................... 66 6.1 General Characteristics..................................................................................... 66 6.2 Climate.............................................................................................................. 66 6.3 Hydrology ......................................................................................................... 69 6.4 Geology............................................................................................................. 75 6.5 Soils................................................................................................................... 77 6.6 Fisheries ............................................................................................................ 81 6.7 Vegetation......................................................................................................... 83 6.8 Wildlife ............................................................................................................. 91 6.9 Land Ownership................................................................................................ 93 6.10 Land Use........................................................................................................... 93 6.11 Water Quality.................................................................................................... 96 7.0 Sub-Watershed Conditions and Restoration Needs ...................................... 100 7.1 Silver Bow Creek Corridor ............................................................................. 100 7.2 Mill and Willow creeks Sub-watershed.......................................................... 118 7.3 German Gulch Sub-watershed........................................................................ 131 7.4 Sand Creek Sub-Watershed ............................................................................ 145 7.5 Basin and Blacktail creeks Sub-Watershed .................................................... 153 7.6 Butte Area Sub-Watershed ............................................................................. 167 7.7 Browns Gulch Sub-Watershed........................................................................ 178 7.8 Warm Springs Ponds Area Sub-Watershed .................................................... 187 i 8.0 Restoration Prioritization ................................................................................ 192 8.1 Review of Prioritization Process..................................................................... 192 8.2 Watershed Scale Prioritization Results by Restoration Category................... 193 8.3 Restoration Prioritization Results by Restoration Need ................................. 202 8.4 Prioritization Results by Planning Area.......................................................... 219 8.5 Limitations of the Prioritization Process......................................................... 219 9.0 Proposal Development...................................................................................... 221 9.1 NRDP Funding Opportunities......................................................................... 221 9.2 Other Funding Opportunities .......................................................................... 227 10.0 References Cited................................................................................................ 240 Appendix A Public Participation .......................................................................... 250 Focus Group Participants............................................................................................ 250 Ad Hoc Committee Participants ................................................................................. 251 Focus Group Results................................................................................................... 252 Butte Area Citizens Meeting, December 2003 ........................................................... 255 Appendix B GIS Data ............................................................................................ 264 Appendix C Water Quality Sampling................................................................... 266 Metals and Arsenic Sampling, Silver Bow Creek ...................................................... 266 Benthic Sediment Sampling on Silver Bow Creek..................................................... 271 Nutrient Sampling, Silver Bow Creek ........................................................................ 278 Water Quality Sampling, Warm Springs Ponds ......................................................... 283 Water Quality Sampling, German Gulch.................................................................... 286 Water Quality Sampling, Basin and Blacktail Creek.................................................. 293 Appendix D Aerial Photo Assessment .................................................................. 295 Appendix E Montana FWP Wildlife Aerial Sighting Data ................................ 304 List of Figures: Figure ES-1: Overview of the Silver Bow Creek watershed .............................................. 4 Figure ES-2: Diagram illustrating the watershed restoration plan development.................5 Figure 1-1: Location of the Silver Bow Creek watershed. ............................................... 14 Figure 2-1: Silver Bow Creek flowing through slag wall canyon in Butte. ..................... 19 Figure 2-2: Floodplain tailings contamination in Subarea 4............................................. 22 Figure 2-3: Overview of the Silver Bow Creek watershed............................................... 23 Figure 2-4: Berkeley Pit in Butte...................................................................................... 24 Figure 2-5:Sludge discharge pipeline, Horsehoe Bend Water Treatment Plant ............... 25 Figure 2-6: Colorado Tailings liming facility................................................................... 27 Figure 2-7: View of Anaconda uplands from Mount Haggin WMA................................ 29 Figure 2-8: Successful vegetation restoration, Silver Bow Creek floodplain, Subarea 1. 35 Figure 2-9: Tailings removal and reconstruction of Silver Bow Creek in Subarea 2....... 36 Figure 2-10: Silver Bow Creek in Durant Canyon. .......................................................... 37 Figure 6-1: 30 year average climate statistics, Butte airport weather station. .................. 67 Figure 6-2: 30 year average climate statistics, East Anaconda weather station. .............. 67 Figure 6-3: Average annual precipitation