A Collaboration with Madison Conservation District

Background

Moore Creek is a tributary to Ennis Lake and is an important ecological resource to the greater Madison River Valley. The project will restore a 0.6 mile straightened and incised reach of Moore Creek to 1 mile of sinuous stream channel with diverse habitat features and a connected floodplain. This project is a “turn key” thanks to design funding provided by NorthWestern Energy, and is considered a demonstration project that will help jump-start future restoration actions on Moore Creek and other tributaries to the Madison River. The project was designed from geomorphic, aquatic habitat, and vegetation “reference reaches” investigated in lower Moore Creek on the Valley Garden Ranch. The design is based in natural channel design philosophy and integrates strategies and techniques that emulate desired conditions, relying entirely on native-based materials. Vegetated wood matrix structures consisting of native alluvium, small diameter woody material, and dense willow cuttings will provide bank stability, complex pool habitat, and increase shade to the channel. Approximately 12 acres of previously drained emergent and scrub-shrub wetland habitats will be restored by reconnecting Moore Creek to its historic floodplain surface. The plan will reduce sediment loading to Moore Creek by 137 tons per year through mitigation of chronic bank and terrace erosion. A floodplain seedling plan and grazing management plan will encourage growth of native riparian vegetation and ensure long term restoration success.

MRF Involvement

We are honored to be a part of a committed team of contributors who joined forces to bring this project to light:

Madison Conservation District - Leading the Charge! / NorthWestern Energy / The Goggin Family / Starry Night / NRCS / DEQ

Project Description

The project reach comprises of a 0.6 mile section of Moore Creek that is straightened, incised, and devoid of woody riparian vegetation. The restoration plan involves the construction of 1 mile of stream and floodplain features with a focus on restoring eroding stream banks, re-establishing channel cross-sections dimensions, plan form and longitudinal profile dimensions and increasing floodplain connectivity. The following restoration treatments will be implemented:

1. Shape the constructed channel to the appropriate dimensions of a sinuous E4 stream type incorporating riffle, run, pool, and glide habitat features, based on reference reach data collected on streams of similar valley and channel morphology.

2. Convert existing upland plant communities to wetlands in the upstream subreach (Reach 1) by constructing an inset floodplain and restoring floodplain connectivity.

Establish a minimum meander belt width of 100-ft.

3. Raise the channel profile in the downstream subreach (Reach 2) to maximize floodplain connection.

4. Fill the existing channel in Reach 1 to floodplain elevation to restore wetland hydrology.

5. Increase aquatic habitat complexity by increasing the quality and frequency of pools.

6. Incorporate vegetated wood matrix and brush structures for bank stabilization and pool habitat development.

7. Incorporate 14,550 willow cuttings into bank structures to provide bank stabilization and stream vegetation cover and shade.

8. Incorporate 13,125 willow cuttings into floodplain willow trenches to diversify the floodplain and encourage growth of native riparian vegetation.

9. Implement a grazing management plan including fencing exclosures, water gaps, and stream crossings to protect sensitive riparian areas and vegetation.

10. Install 1 mile of riparian fencing along restoration corridor.

Project Benefits

Public Benefits to Anglers

The intended project, if successful, would increase public fishing opportunity in the form of wild fish abundance in Ennis Reservoir. Public fishing is not allowed onsite, except for in the case of an angler accessing Moore Creek channel from a public access point and abided by the provisions stated in the Montana Stream Access Law (MCD Title 23: Part 3). Aside from instream access and benefits, the public will benefit from improved water quality and wild fish populations in Ennis Reservoir. There is also a walking trail system through the emergent and scrub-shrub wetland that is open to the public. This trail system will be expanded upon

completion of the project and include the addition of interpretive signage about the project and its partners.

Large-scale Public Environmental Benefits

1) The Moore Creek Restoration project has brought together a diverse group of partners who are all in on restoring this important community resource, including the Madison Conservation District, NorthWestern Energy, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Madison River Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Starry Night Lodging, and Goggins Family Ranch.

2) Moore Creek and its vast wetland and riparian environments are important ecological resources to the greater Madison River valley. Agricultural land use practices and ditching and incisement of the lower 5 miles of Moore Creek have converted riparian wetland environments to uplands. A primary goal of this project is to reconnect Moore Creek to former floodplain sources which will increase water storage, provide a filter for nutrients and sediments, and improve aquatic and terrestrial environments by diversifying vegetation community types and reducing current rates of bank erosion and migration.

3) This project will help reduce sediment, temperature, and nutrient loading to the Ennis Reservoir and the lower Madison River.

4) This project is the initial phase of a comprehensive, 5-mile restoration project for lower Moore Creek. Collectively, this phase and all future phases of work are estimated to restore several hundred acres of drained emergent, scrub-shrub, and shallow open water wetlands. Restoring this vast wetland complex and stream corridor will increase water storage in the alluvial aquifer. In the wake of a changing climate, the Moore Creek ecosystem will provide an important coldwater refugia for aquatic species.

5) The Montana Constitution ensures the citizens of Montana access to a clean & healthy environment. Ennis Reservoir and the greater Madison River ecosystem are important to the overall economic health of Ennis and surrounding Communities. As the stewards tasked with protecting the soil & water health in the Madison Valley, the MCD board & staff intends to uphold this constitutional right for all the citizens of the Madison Watershed; from the farmers & ranchers, like Pat Goggins & the Goggins Family, that have safe-guarded these open spaces for over a century and who were the original conservationists to those in the tourism industry, like Mr. Eric Sheckleton & Starry Night Lodging, who want to protect the Treasure State’s resources and share them with all the

citizens of the world. As the two largest economies in the state, working with partners from the tourism and agricultural industries will be key to conserving our state’s resources for generations to come.