. Southwest Montana wetland assessment : developing a statewide assessment and monitoring strategy for Montana. Wetlands; Wetland ecology; Wetland management. Study Area Geography The study area is the Upper Missouri Headwaters in southwestern Montana (Figure 1). At the initiation of this project, six out of eight basins had complete digital wetland mapping, which was a requirement for inclusion in this multi-scale assessment: Beaverhead River (10020002); Ruby River (10020003); Big Hole River (10020004); " Jefferson River (10020005); Madison River (10020007); and Gallatin River (100200008
. Southwest Montana wetland assessment : developing a statewide assessment and monitoring strategy for Montana. Wetlands; Wetland ecology; Wetland management. Study Area Geography The study area is the Upper Missouri Headwaters in southwestern Montana (Figure 1). At the initiation of this project, six out of eight basins had complete digital wetland mapping, which was a requirement for inclusion in this multi-scale assessment: Beaverhead River (10020002); Ruby River (10020003); Big Hole River (10020004); " Jefferson River (10020005); Madison River (10020007); and Gallatin River (100200008; Figure 2). The six-basin project area covers 6,569,851 ac (2,658,735 ha or 10,265 sq mi) and includes portions of Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, Jefferson, Broadwater, Gallatin, Madison, and Beaverhead counties (Table 1). Major towns in the project area include Dillon, Bozeman, Ennis, and Whitehall. Land uses within this area are primarily livestock grazing with some timber harvesting, mining, and recreation. Residential and commercial development occurs in and around the towns of Dillon and Bozeman. Montane portions of the project area are largely publicly owned, with the Forest Service being the primary landowner (Figure 3). Private ownership is focused principally in the valleys and lower foothills. The project area is characterized by wide intermountain valleys and isolated mountain ranges (Nesser et al. 1997). Mountain ranges are steep with elevations reaching over 10,000 ft (3,048 m). Valleys are glacial and fluvial with alluvial terraces and floodplains. Elevation in the valleys ranges from 2,500 to 6,500 ft (762 to 1,981 m). Elevations of wetlands assessed during this project ranged from 4,081 to 9,383 ft (1,244 to 2,860 m). Climate and Hydrology Climate in the study area is cold, dry, and continental (McNab and Avers 1994). Climate data were taken from the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC 2012). In the valleys, the mean temperatures in January range from -6°C in
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