ABSTRACT
Twenty-two detailed vigil network stations were established in 1975 on the headwater tributaries (2 km2 to about 2000 km2 drainage areas) of the Yellowstone River in the areas to be most heavily impacted. Since major stream diversions and possible dams are also anticipated on trunk streams, additional grab sediment samples, Helley-Smith bedload transport samples, and channel geometry data were taken for the Yellowstone and its major trunk tributaries as well as for the headwater areas. Non-glacial streams that directly drain the strippable coal-bearing areas are today very sinuous and more stable. These non-glacial tributary coal region streams appear to be much more susceptible to induced changes in channel patterns and flow characteristics brought on by changes in land-use factors that affect flood routing, aquifer behavior, and sediment production. Such changes are all anticipated with large-scale coal development such that decreased agricultural uses of bottom lands can be expected.
