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Gearing up for more river restoration
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August 28, 2012 |
 Construction
equipment is being mobilized, logs and root wads
and other construction materials are being
stockpiled, and a volunteer fish rescue crew is
waiting on call.
What’s all this activity about? It's all
preparation for construction of two Kootenai
River habitat restoration projects that will be
built from September through November this year.
Both projects are part of the Kootenai Tribe of
Idaho’s Kootenai River Habitat Restoration
Program.
Sue Ireland, director of the Tribe’s Fish and
Wildlife Program, explained, “The Kootenai River
Habitat Restoration Program is an
ecosystem-based habitat restoration program
designed to restore habitat for Kootenai River
white sturgeon and other native fish such as
burbot and kokanee. The program includes
approximately 10 unique projects that will be
built over about five or six years. The first
two projects, which were located in the braided
reach upstream of Bonners Ferry, were completed
in 2011.”
Ireland said that a goal of the habitat
restoration program is to provide the best
possible habitat conditions for Kootenai
sturgeon and other native fish populations while
working with the community infrastructure and
agricultural land uses that are currently in
place.
“We specifically wanted to design a ecosystem
restoration program that addresses the habitat
needs of sturgeon and other important fish
populations without calling for additional flows
or doing things that are not consistent with
local community values and land uses,” she said.
The projects are designed to function within a
range of ordinary Kootenai River flows but can
also withstand abnormally high flows like those
experienced this last year.
The projects being constructed this year are the
North Side Channels project and Upper Meander
project. Both project sites are located upstream
of Bonners Ferry in the braided reach of the
Kootenai River.
The North Side Channels project is designed to
restore side channel habitat used by a variety
of fish. Project actions will include
restoration of bank cover vegetation; fencing to
help manage grazing use; construction of pools,
riffles and alcoves in the river; and
development of enhanced wetland areas.
The Upper Meander project will include
stabilization of a severely eroding riverbank,
livestock fencing and riparian restoration as
well as construction of instream structures that
will help deflect flows away from the bank.
These instream structures will also help to
create a series of pools that will provide more
diverse habitats for a variety of fish in this
river reach.
The Tribe has applied for and received all
necessary permits and approvals to begin this
year’s construction work.
Dewatering of the North Side Channel in order to
begin construction will start over Labor Day
weekend.
During the construction window, residents in the
area may hear some construction traffic and may
occasionally see increased sediment in the
river. In addition, the Upper Meander project
will include pile driving to construct the
instream structures, which will generate some
temporary noise.
The majority of instream construction work on
both projects will happen in September and
October with planting and bank restoration
activities occurring in November.
The 2011 and 2012 projects, and the other
projects that make up the Kootenai River Habitat
Restoration Program, have been developed in
coordination with regional biologists, river
engineers, resource management agencies, and
technical experts from a wide range of
disciplines.
Local landowners have also played a critical
role by allowing restoration actions to occur on
their private land and providing input on the
project design concepts.
Tribal chair Jennifer Porter said “We’re so
grateful for the support and cooperation of the
landowners who were involved in both last year’s
and this year’s projects. They are playing a
huge role in helping to recover the Kootenai
River ecosystem that will benefit all of us.”
The Tribe has hired a general contractor,
Goodfellow Brothers, to construct the 2012
construction projects. The general contractor is
working with local subcontractors whenever
possible to provide materials and assist in
different aspects of the project. Bonneville
Power Administration provided funding for the
planning, design, and construction of the
project through the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife
Program.
To learn more about the Kootenai River Habitat
Restoration Program and the 2011 and 2012
projects you can go to the Tribe’s project web
site
http://restoringthekootenai.org. |
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