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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF WESTERN COAL COMBUSTION. PART I. THE FISHES OF ROSEBUD CREEK, MONTANA
Citation:
Elser, A. AND J. Schreiber. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF WESTERN COAL COMBUSTION. PART I. THE FISHES OF ROSEBUD CREEK, MONTANA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-78/098.
Description:
Fish populations have been studied during 1975 and 1976 in Rosebud Creek, a prairie stream which flows through the Fort Union Coal Basin in southeastern Montana. The objective of this study was to collect fish population data to determine any immediate effects, and to act as a yardstick for assessing possible future effects of accelerated activities of coal mining and coal combustion in this region. Fishes were inventoried at nine stations and included 21 species representing nine families. The species composition and fish distribution were representative of other streams in this region. Game fishes included northern pike found throughout the stream, brook trout which occurred in the headwater areas, and sauger, walleye, channel catfish, and turbot which were found near the confluence with the Yellowstone River. The most abundant nongame species were white sucker and shorthead redhorse. There was no apparent effect of either coal mining or coal combustion activities on the distribution of fishes in Rosebud Creek.