“It's already scoured a foot or more and fish have found it,” said the Lolo National Forest fisheries program manager. “This hole is just going to get larger and better for fish. Š Next spring's high flows will be moving basketball size rocks out of here.”
The debris jam has everything a trout could want on a hot summer day - cool shade and a deep pool. And when high water hits next spring, the huge root wads will slow the rush and give fish a place to rest.
By the end of next week, there will be nine or 10 new debris jams scattered along one of Montana's favorite fishing streams as part of a project that will make campers safer, fish happier and not put a big dent in taxpayers' pocketbooks.
After a recent Douglas fir bark beetle epidemic, Forest Service officials were faced with a dilemma. Many of the large trees in popular campgrounds along Rock Creek were dead and could have fallen on unsuspecting campers.
At the same time, Rock Creek Road and a legion of firewood cutters were keeping most of the old snags from reaching the creek and creating new habitat for trout.
Using a relatively new program called stewardship contracting - which allows the agency to sell timber and use the receipts for nearby projects - the Lolo National Forest put together a plan to cut down the dead trees that could be hazardous to humans.
About 150 trees were sold for timber and about 50 were set aside to use in building new homes for trout. Money the agency made selling the trees would pay for the habitat improvement project.
Over the past few weeks, a pair of skilled excavator operators from Idaho's Worman Contracting carefully pushed over dead Douglas fir and eased them through the forest maze and into place in Rock Creek. It's a remarkable feat considering some trees topped out taller than 130 feet.
“It's amazing to watch them work,” Riggers said. “Their excavators almost become an extension of their hands. They're very good at what they do.”
Unlike many stabilization projects that permanently anchor trees into the bank, Riggers depends on the bulk of the trees to keep them in place. He also carefully selected spots where natural anchors, like other living trees, could be used to secure the debris jam.
Even with all that, Riggers knows nature will have the final say.
“Each one of these complexes is made up of five or six big trees,” he said. “That's a lot of mass Š even with that I don't expect these to be here forever. In 10 to 15 years, I don't expect any of them to be the same.”
“Some are going to be bigger and others are going to move,” Riggers said. “It's just part of the natural process of having big trees back in Rock Creek.”
Riggers knows how important debris jams can be for trout - and how few of them remain in Rock Creek. During a 20-mile float this spring, he counted just seven.
“None of them were this substantial,” he said.
The agency didn't forget that Rock Creek is a popular float for fishermen in the spring. The debris jams are designed to leave about two-thirds of the channel open, as well as the deepest section. They were also placed where floaters will be able to see them well in advance.
Hand crews will arrive shortly to re-scatter the seed-laden duff moved around by the heavy machinery. The brush cut back along the streambank should recover quickly.
“We want to make it look like work never happened,” he said. “So far, everything has been going better than what we expected.”
That will be important for the thousands who camp every year along Rock Creek in both developed campsites and dispersed camping areas.
Because of the area's popularity, people are required to camp in designated sites, said Al Hilshey, a forestry tech with the Missoula district's developed recreation program.
Those designated sites include 15 dispersed camping spots that give people the opportunity to enjoy the area without the feel of a developed campground. Typically, the sites include a stone fire ring and a place to set up a tent.
“All of the campsites here are popular,” Hilshey said. “It's amazing how many people from all over the country plan their vacations around a stay on Rock Creek. It's a unique place and so close to Missoula. We're so lucky to have it here.”
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