One fish barrier going up, another down

To improve fish habitat in Glacier National Park, one fish barrier will be torn down and another will be beefed up, Park officials announced last week.

As part of the Rose Creek bridge replacement on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the Park will remove a small dam that impedes spawning cutthroat trout in the small stream.

The Park recently approved an environmental assessment for the project, and work is expected to begin in the fall 2013.

The dam will be removed to restore fish passage along Rose Creek. The weir has not been in use since 1971. The concrete forming the weir will be removed until it is level with the stream bed or no longer presents a barrier to fish.

The Park will also replace the Rose Creek Bridge with a new concrete girder, clear-span bridge about 85 foot-long. Park officials say the new bridge will appear more compatible with the historic design characteristics of the Sun Road. Both actions will restore access to historic spawning and rearing habitat for native fish and improve stream flow and sediment transport along lower Rose Creek.

Park officials have also approved a bolstered fish barrier on Quartz Creek between Middle and Lower Quartz lakes. The barrier will modify and improve the existing Quartz Creek fish barrier to support lake trout suppression efforts in Quartz Lake by reducing the potential for additional lake trout to enter the lake.

Biologists are currently conducting a netting program to reduce lake trout in Quartz Lake, which has one of the best bull trout populations in the Park.

The Park says the barrier project will better protect the integrity of native fish populations in the upper Quartz Creek drainage. Barrier construction will take about 10 days to two weeks and will occur during the low-flow period of late summer or early fall to avoid impacts to spawning bull trout and other wildlife.

Fifteen people commented on the Quartz Creek project. Fourteen supported it and one opposed, claiming the work should be done where no lake trout are present.

The complete environmental analysis and the finding of no significant impact are available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/QuartzFishBarrierFONSI.