Day 12

Watershed Project

Day 12

            West Fork Lake Creek Stream and Wetland Enhancement Projects, Coeur d’Alene Tribe Fisheries Program by Stephanie Hallock. Stephanie is a biologist and engineer working with the Spokane tribe for over 10 years. Lake Creek watershed is 91 miles of stream habitat with an area of 36 square miles.  Some of the watershed leads into Washington state. West Fort Lake Creek has been straighten many times for agriculture but has led to bank erosion. EPA has able to grant the Coeur d’Alene Natural Resources to restore banks of the creek. Project goals are creating wetland habitats and hydraulic connections with the valley bottom, reduce erosion, enhance property for agriculture and the creek, and provide measurable abundance and distribution to cutthroat trout. A design was created to provide a new creek and enhance habitat which will reduce bank erosion. Techniques are creating ditches and with the leftover soil to be use for enhancing creek banks. The project took three years to complete the ditch and open the water ways. The old creek was filled in with soil and new native vegetation was provided for the new creek. The creek provides security from floods but not a full guarantee from flood damage from winter runoff. Bonneville Protection Agency also provided funding for the West Lake Creek restoration. There is a combine effort from the Forestry program, Natural Resources, BPA, EPA, and landowners.

            Stephanie then led us out to her 3 year restoration project on the West Lake Creek on a local homeowner’s property. The farm was in an open meadow surrounded by trees and hills on the Washington side of the border. The property owner’s name was Glen who farms right by the creek. The first year of the project was creating ditching to replace the old creek. The second year was diverting the old creek into the newly made one and adding native vegetation while filling the old creek in. The third year was to repair any damages done to the creek from winter flood damage  and controlling floods with logs. It’s been six years and you couldn’t tell that it was man-made and the vegetation has grown to provide shade to cutthroat trout.

            Angelo Vitali is a fisheries program manager who is in charge of many programs for the Natural Resources department including planning volunteer and contract work build 6 sturgeon canoes for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. It will take a couple of months before the canoes are done and put in an expedition that travels from Coeur d’Alene Lake to the Columbia River next year. Our young crew came outside to help carve the canoe out of an old cedar tree estimated 600 years old. The log was approximately 30ft long that could fit all 16 of us. It was fun helping carve out the wood and the smell was so great that we collected saw dust and chips to use at home. But the tools were simple shavers that used more muscle than technology. We spent a good hour or so help smooth out the canoe and everyone put in their effort to use each and every tool. We’re glad we could help and we’ll get credit for our volunteer work.