Location:

Skalkaho Creek is located in the Bitterroot basin, southeast of the town of Hamilton.  The creek's headwaters originate in the Sapphire Mountains on the eastern side of the Bitterroot Valley.  Skalkaho Creek flows some 40 km west-northwest through agricultural lands and small homesteads to the Bitterroot River.

Background:

• Fisheries: Westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, slimy sculpin, mountain whitefish, longnose sucker, longnose dace, and redside shiner are all present in Skalkaho Creek.
• Impacts: The lower 7 miles of Skalkaho Creek is listed as chronically dewatered by the MT Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP). Flows vary through this reach due to several large irrigation structures. Fish entrainment was identified as a significant and frequent problem on many of the creek's diversion ditches.  To address this issue, MFWP has completed numerous fish screening projects over the last 5 years.
• Status: Increasing streamflows in the lower 5 to 7 miles of Skalkaho Creek is currently the highest priority for the Coalition's flow restoration work in the Bitterroot Basin. This stream is regarded by the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service as critical to recovery of the threatened native bull trout, and is also a priority stream for native westslope cutthroat trout populations. The recent combined efforts of MFWP, the Bitter Root Water Forum, Trout Unlimited, and several irrigation companies to address fish entrainment and passage issues on the stream, make this an ideal time for the Coalition to begin protecting instream flows here in order to accomplish comprehensive restoration on Skalkaho Creek.

Prioritized Stream Reach for Project Development on Skalkaho Creek

1 - Skalkaho Creek: prioritized reach (corresponding to numbered map location)

Location:  Lower 7 miles of Skalkaho Creek

Value:  Skalkaho Creek is highly important habitat for native fish such as bull trout and westlope cutthroat trout.  It is also recognized as an important spawning stream for brown and rainbow trout.  Increased flows in this stream are essential to the health of its fisheries and the health of the Bitterroot watershed, as Skalkaho Creek is one of the larger tributary systems that flow into the Bitterroot River.  In 2010, the Coalition plans to build on the successful restoration work that other groups have conducted on this stream.