Hello, Everyone!
Happy New Year to all of you! We apologize for being late in completing this assignment. We are Dave and Judy Boyle, and we live in the Toll Mountain/Upper Rader Creek area west of Whitehall in the Boulder Batholith. We do not have surface water flowing through our property. However, we do have signs of past surface water. Our focus is to restore an area on Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest land. I have included an attachment so you are able to see the area which is on the North Fork of the Little Pipestone Creek near its headwaters in a beautiful drainage. It is a 1 tributary to the Jefferson River.
The human history of the area does include indigenous visitors for hunting. Later, mining and logging practices took place. Below the area is a group of privately owned cabin on FS leased land around Mullin Lake which, from my understanding, was part of the logging operation. Above the pond and in our area of concentration, are a series of dams. I am presently doing research to find out the exact history of the area and if those dams are man-made or beaver-made. The creek meanders through the series of dams.
During the 19 Mile Fire and Blacktail Fire, the helicopters used this pond for water.
The year that we were graced with much snow (2019?), the forest service closed the road from the junction of the FS240 road to the lake because they were afraid the integrity of the causeway on the lake was unsafe and would flood Toll Mountain Campground. The owners of the cabins contracted Jeffrey’s Construction to rebuild the causeway to FS specifications. During this time, a family of beavers began building a lodge below the lake on the creek. Sadly, the beavers have disappeared.
Ultimately, we would like permission from the FS, etc. to open the dams to allow more water to collect, leaving and possibly building up the last dam as a bank to eventually become a pond. I was speaking with one of the cabin owners who remembers, as a child, that the area was once a pond. We would love to restore this pond to improve habitat for mammals, birds, and fish along with a second source of water for firefighting efforts. The cabin owner was very excited to hear about this.
One last note…if anyone needs help with the physical work of your project, I would be happy to help!