The federal Clean Water Act requires that states and tribes restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. States and tribes must adopt water quality standards necessary to protect fish, shellfish, and wildlife while providing for recreation in and on the waters whenever possible.

This document addresses the water bodies in the Fall Creek watershed in the Palisades Subbasin that have been placed on the §303(d) list of impaired water bodies. TMDLs for the rest of the Palisades Subbasin were completed in 2001. The Fall Creek watershed supports many valuable resources, including wildlife habitat, travertine hot springs, an aesthetically-valuable 60-foot waterfall, and native Yellowstone cutthroat trout fisheries.

Sediment and temperature are the listed pollutants of concern in Fall Creek; sediment is the listed pollutant for Camp Creek. When the current excessive sedimentation in the upper watershed is reduced and riparian shade is increased, the Fall Creek watershed may rebound to be a unique and correctly functioning surface water system, fully supporting its beneficial uses according to water quality standards.

To fully support the beneficial use of cold water aquatic life, TMDLs are needed to control sediment in Camp and Fall Creeks. The goals are to achieve 80% stream bank stability and 28% subsurface fine sediment. Additionally, a temperature TMDL is needed to reduce stream temperature to achieve salmonid spawning criteria in Fall Creek.

The U.S. Forest Service is the land management agency in the Fall Creek watershed. In January 2002, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest recommended a number of improvements to the Fall Creek watershed and rated those improvements in order of importance. The TMDL goals should be attainable once these recommendations have been implemented.