Baseline Assessment of Sediment Dynamics on the North Fork of the Flathead River

Gannon, Tim; Sanchez, David

The North Fork of the Flathead River forms the western boundary of the world’s first International Peace Park, the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Deemed a World Heritage Site in 1995, the park’s western river front still lacks a comprehensive baseline study in its upper reaches of the North Fork watershed. This river flows from Southwest British Columbia, Canada into Northwest Montana, which then contributes to the Flathead River. An increasing human presence continues to be a threat to the vulnerable river and the most pressing issue, regarding mining proposals for the North Fork drainage basin, has created a trans-boundary tension between the U.S. and Canada. Pollutions such as mine spoils and sediment are two major ways mines can negatively affect streams. We have used three methods to help characterize sediment loadings in the North Fork; Suspended Solids Concentration (SSC), Corer Deposited Sediment Sampling, and Benthic Particulate Organic Matter (“mung”) sampling. These methods, along with stream metadata help determine the nature of sediment dynamics in the North Fork of the Flathead River. The study reveals that there is a logarithmic correlation of the Mineral Sediment Component (MSC) to Organic Matter Component (OMC) ratio with distance downstream. Throughout the system, the inorganic matter dominates the composition of the sediment. The average Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentration in the North Fork during our sampling was 2.42 mg/l. The analysis on deposited sampling is not conclusive although inorganic to organic composition ratios provide preliminary characterization for the area. Altogether, this North Fork sediment assessment project exposes an urgent need for more research in the area in order to understand and establish a thorough ecological review of the resources in the region.

Baseline Assessment of Sediment Dynamics on the North Fork of the Flathead River

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