Birch Creek (Beaver County, Utah)
Birch Creek is a northwesterly-flowing 8.4 miles (13.5 km) stream in Beaver County, Utah.[2] It originates on the western slope of Birch Creek Mountain in the Tushar Mountains in Fishlake National Forest, and its waters flow west into South Creek, then under Interstate 15 south of the town of Beaver, and thence to the Beaver River, and ultimately to the Sevier River and Lake.
| Birch Creek (Beaver County, Utah) | |
|---|---|
  Birch Creek, a stream on the western slope of Birch Creek Mountain | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | West slope of Birch Creek Mountain |
| • location | Tushar Mountains, Beaver County, Utah |
| • coordinates | 38°16′57″N 112°26′50″W[1] |
| • elevation | 9,405 ft (2,867 m) |
| Mouth | South Creek |
• location | Southeast of Beaver, Beaver County, Utah |
• coordinates | 38°13′25″N 112°35′57″W[1] |
• elevation | 6,194 ft (1,888 m) |
Watershed and Course
Birch Creek begins as Middle Fork Birch Creek on the western slope of its namesake Birch Creek Mountain at elevation 9,405 feet (2,867 m) in the Tushar Mountains. Minor tributaries on Birch Creek Mountain include North Fork Birch Creek and South Fork Birch Creek.
Ecology
Intensive grazing, historic extirpation of beaver (Castor canadensis), and conifer encroachment have all contributed to the degraded condition of Birch Creek. Birch Creek supports native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah), a subspecies of cutthroat trout, a species of special concern in Utah and one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States. It is the only native sport fish in southwestern Utah's Bonneville Basin. When prehistoric Lake Bonneville became desiccated 8,000 years ago, remnant populations of cutthroat trout persisted in coldwater streams on the western slope of the Tushar Mountains, in particular, Birch Creek and North Fork North Creek.[3] Behnke used meristic analysis in 1976 to first describe Bonneville cutthroat trout in Birch Creek[4] and this finding was later confirmed by several genetic analyses.[5][6] Birch Creek acted as the source for the first restoration of Bonneville cutthroat trout in southern Utah when fish were transferred to Sam Stowe Creek in the Middle Sevier River drainage in 1977.[3]
A restoration project using beaver dam analogues to restore riparian habitat and decrease channel incision was conducted by Professor Joe Wheaton and team from Utah State University in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management.[7]
References
- "Birch Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 10, 2021
- Michael J. Hadley; Michael J. Ottenbacher; James E. Whelan. Survey of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in the Beaver River Drainage, Utah, 2007-2009. Publication Number 11-04 (Report). Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR). Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- Behnke, R. J. (1976). Summary of information on the status of the Utah or Bonneville cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki utah (Report). Salt Lake City, Utah: Wasatch National Forest. p. 14.
- Ohlhorst, S. (1991). Electrophoretic analysis of native cutthroat trout populations. Final report (Report). Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources.
- Evans, R. P.; D. K. Shiozawa (2004). Genetic status of Utah cutthroat troutpopulations I. Final report (Report). Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources.
- Shahverdian, SM.; Wheaton, JM. Birch Creek Restoration Design Report (Report). Newton, UT: Anabranch Solutions, LLC for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. p. 26. Retrieved April 9, 2021.