Fish & Wildlife Habitat Restoration
Landowners throughout Montana rely on Watershed Consulting’s full range of services to enhance and restore fish and wildlife habitat. Currently, we manage more than 1,500 acres of private forests and wildlands with the specific goal of improving fish & wildlife habitat. Our wide-ranging expertise allows us to discern how diverse species will react to changes in their environments, and what actions we can take to promote their well-being.
Whether you’re seeking to invite songbirds into your forests, encourage trout and salmon survival, provide forage for large game species, or create suitable waterfowl habitat, Watershed Consulting has the tools and know-how to help you succeed.
Services Offered:
- Fisheries & Aquatic Habitat Restoration
- Waterfowl and Upland Bird Habitat Enhancement
- Big Game & Wildlife Habitat Improvements
- Predator and Small Mammal Habitat Improvements
Fisheries & Aquatic Habitat Restoration
Fish Population Assessments
Watershed Consulting conducts fish population assessments utilizing electrofishing and snorkeling. We analyze electrofishing survey results by employing depletion methods in order to obtain population estimates. Single pass catch-per-effort is also available. Snorkeling surveys can be conducted as an alternative to, or in combination with, electrofishing. In particular, snorkeling provides insight into presence-absence and life history patterns that might not be obtained through electrofishing. Snorkeling is the preferred method for sensitive species. Watershed Consulting also evaluates fish populations and recruitment through spawning activity (redd counts), fry trapping and adult migratory trapping.
Aquatic Habitat Surveys
Watershed Consulting can conduct surveys of various physical components of a stream ecosystem including: spawning gravels, substrate composition, fine sediment levels, in-stream habitat types, pool to riffle ratios, pool formative features, pool residual depth and large woody debris. In order to evaluate these physical components, we can use the USFS R1/R4, Hankin and Reeves, and the General Aquatic Wildlife Study (GAWS), as well as other approaches. In addition, Watershed Consulting has completed many pre- and post-restoration habitat analysis investigations and believes that post-project monitoring is an important component.
Fish Habitat Enhancement
For projects involving restoration recommendations, Watershed Consulting takes the results from both the fish population investigation and the aquatic habitat surveys and combines it with the geomorphic, hydrologic, riparian, soils and uplands data to determine which types of fisheries habitat enhancement structures have the best retention potential while also benefiting the fisheries population the most. Watershed Consulting combines in-stream fish habitat enhancement structures with stream bank bioengineering techniques to provide an integral aquatic environment.
Macroinvertebrate Population Sampling
Macroinvertebrate populations can be sampled using qualitative or quantitative methods. Surber, Hess, kicknet, and artificial substrate sampling are some available survey options. Watershed Consulting can complete taxonomic and the results can be used in support of watershed assessments or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) issues.
Endangered Species Issues
Watershed Consulting’s fisheries biologist has been involved in many projects with issues directly pertaining to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This includes involvement at the project implementation level monitoring the effects to ESA-listed species and recommending mitigation measures to reduce impacts. Watershed Consulting’s fisheries biologist has also served as an interdisciplinary team member and prepared the fisheries chapters of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and two Environmental Impact Statements (EIS’s). These documents included the description of existing conditions, direct effects, indirect effects and cumulative effects of proposed action alternatives to fisheries.
Pond Design, Construction and monitoring
Watershed Consulting has been involved in all phases of pond design and construction. We work with clients to ensure that pond designs and current conditions will be conducive to species placed in the pond. Inflow and outflow sources are evaluated and Watershed Consulting can guide clients through the necessary permit process.
Limnological Surveys
As a compliment to our pond design and construction services, Watershed Consulting provides baseline pond and lake monitoring. Our limnological surveys have addressed the spectrum of lentic environments from eutrophic ponds to meso-oligotrophic lakes, including a highly alkaline lake in northwestern Nevada that houses a unique lacustrine population of Lahontan cutthroat trout, an ESA-listed species.
Watershed Consulting, Missoula, MT | Water Resources 406.662.0124 | Forest Resources 406.541.2565 |