Bank Stabilization Projects on Streams in Missoula County, Montana

Troy M. Brandt, Environmental Studies, University of Montana, Missoula
Erik Ringelberg, Watershed Education Network, Missoula, MT 59802

 

Rapid population growth in Missoula County has spurred a rise in residential and commercial property development.  A portion of this growth impacts Missoula County’s watercourses and floodplains.  To better understand the implications of this development, Missoula County floodplain administrators require baseline information concerning bank stabilization projects and floodplain structures.  The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency jointly funded a project designed to establish a bank stabilization project database for five Missoula County watercourses. Bank stabilization structures on the Clark Fork River, Bitterroot River, Blackfoot River, Lolo Creek, and Nine Mile Creek were inventoried and evaluated during the summer of 1999.  Data describing 215 bank stabilization projects were collected over the 121 river miles comprising the study area.  Bank projects stabilized a total of 29 river miles and varied by age, material, size, project need, and adjacent land use.  The floodplain manager will use the inventory database in conjunction with other information as a tool to educate landowners concerning the hazards of floodplain development.