Fish resources within the Tenderfoot Experimental Forest, Montana: 1991-95

Abstract

The Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF) was established in 1961 to investigate effects of timber harvest on water yield and quality in a subalpine forest of the Northern Rockies draining east of the Continental Divide (Fames et al. 1995; Figure 1). Prior to 1991 the only management activity within the TCEF was the construction of an access road to install stream measurement flumes (Fames et al. 1995). These flumes were not installed until 1992 and 1993 (Fames et al. 1995). The Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit was contracted by the USDA Intermountain Research Station (INT -RJV A-92682) to estimate annual survival rates, population size, age composition, and fecundity for fish populations in Tenderfoot Creek on the Tenderfoot Experimental Forest. We previously published two papers, "Age at sexual maturity, sex ratio, fecundity, and longevity of isolated headwater populations of westslope cutthroat trout" (Downs et al. 1997) and "Factors influencing retention of visible implant tags by westslope cutthroat trout inhabiting headwater streams of Montana" (Shepard et al. 1996). These journal articles summarized some of the data collected from Tenderfoot and numerous other streams. We do not repeat those findings in this report. Staff from the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boise, Idaho collected fish habitat information in 1991. This report summarizes fish population and fish habitat information collected from 1991 to 1995. Copies of field data and data summaries are archived at the USDA Forestry Sciences Laboratory at Montana State University, the Rocky Mountain Research Station at Boise, Idaho, and Montana Department ofFish, Widlife and Parks in dBase format. A detailed explanation of each field is presented in Appendix A.

Citation

Shepard, Bradley B.; Ireland, Susan C.; White, Robert G. 1997. Fish resources within the Tenderfoot Experimental Forest, Montana: 1991-95. Final Report INT-92682-RJVA (Part 1). Boise, ID: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 35 p.