Prickly Pear Creek
Clark Fork Coalition
46° 37' 1.3" N, 111° 57' 36.82" W
Montana's Prickly Pear Creek flows from the Elkhorn Mountains north to the Helena Valley, past the small town of East Helena, continuing through agricultural farmlands, pastures and small rural subdivisions upon entering Lake Helena.
The creek is home to a variety of fish species including brook, brown, rainbow and westslope cutthroat trout. Sadly however, decades of timber harvest, mining, and water withdrawal have taken a heavy toll on Prickly Pear Creek. Legacy mining impacts have contaminated ground water in places, and the creek is chronically dewatered due to over-allocation of surface water rights. As a result, the EPA has listed Prickly Pear Creek as not meeting a number of federal environmental standards, and the creek goes dry in most years.
Archaeological evidence shows that Native Americans inhabited the Helena Valley more than 12,000 years ago. Although never serving as the permanent home of any particular group, the valley was a crossover area for the Salish, Crow, Bannock, and Blackfeet tribes.
In 1805, members of the Lewis and Clark expedition were the first white men to visit the valley. While investigating the area, William Clark stepped on a cactus and had to remove 17 needles from his feet. This event caused him to name the nearby valley and creek, Prickly Pear.
Work is now underway to restore stream flow in Prickly Pear, and a stream flow enhancement project sponsored by the Clark Fork Coalition and BEF has inspired agencies to intensify parallel plans to improve habitat, fisheries, and recreational opportunities in Prickly Pear Creek. Through these conservation efforts, the restored volume of water will allow Prickly Pear Creek to maintain connectivity throughout the irrigation season for the first time in many years, supporting approximately two river miles of additional useable habitat for fish and wildlife.
