Abstract |
Bacteriological determinations of coliform, enterococcal and standard plate counts were performed on two high mountain drainage systems; Hyalite, a watershed open for public use, and Mystic, a watershed that had been closed from 1917 until spring of 1970. The cause of significant changes in the closed watershed is a direct result of the influences of its main tributary, the South Fork. Wild game animal populations which inhabited the South Fork in 1969 were the primary cause of the high bacterial contamination. The opening of the closed watershed for limited public use and extensive logging operation in 1970 coincided with decreasing bacterial densities in this drainage. A more exhaustive analysis of this study, including the basic data, may be found in a thesis authored by G. K. Bissonnette, W71-12690. (WRSIC) |