Watershed The Swan River watershed drains and extends into parts of Missoula County, Lake County and a small portion of Flathead County. The glacial Swan Valley is considered Montana's most water-rich watershed, with over 4,000 lakes, ponds and wetlands that encompass about 16 percent of the total area. There are an estimated of rivers and streams in the watershed. The watershed is very lightly populated with a density of slightly less than 1.6 people per square mile. The total human population, which is concentrated in the northern end of the valley near Bigfork, is estimated at 1,000. The main economic activity in the watershed is logging. Geologically, the Swan Valley forms a continuous trough with the valley drained by the Clearwater River, which flows south through Seeley Lake to join the Blackfoot River. The valleys of the two rivers are known locally as the Seeley-Swan. History There are two theories of the origin of the name "Swan River". In the 1880s Swan Lake was reported to have a large population of trumpeter swans, although none are present there today and contemporary claims remain anecdotal. Another possibility is that the river and lake were named after Emmett Swan, one of the first white settlers in Swan Valley. The U.S. Forest Service permitted commercial logging in the Swan Valley starting in 1907. Early logging activity in the valley was accompanied by attempts to float timber down the Swan River, which was difficult because of the river's narrow and winding course. As a result, most of the timber ended up piled on the banks and along sandbars, forming log jams that persist to this day. The Swan Valley Massacre of 1908 was an altercation between native people of the Pend d'Oreilles tribe and a Montana game warden, in which four Native Americans and the warden were killed. It was the result of a dispute over tribal hunting rights outside of reservation boundaries, which the Montana government reputedly did not honor at the time. River modifications The Bigfork Dam impounds the Swan River at the rapids about 1 mile (1.6 km) above its mouth, to generate about 4,000 kilowatts of hydroelectricity at peak load. The dam and reservoir are operated by PacifiCorp. Originally built in 1902, the dam was constructed with a fish ladder which proved ineffective, as a result isolating the Swan River's fish populations from Flathead Lake. Recreation The stretch of the