Upper Big Springs and Pond Outlet Restoration Project
Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Acquisition
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003 20 SA | Snake River | 12/09/2020 | 06/15/2022 | 2020 | Terminated | 05/08/2024 | |
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Description
In 2018, the Lemhi Regional Land Trust (LRLT) received funding from both PCSRF and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for design and engineering plans for the Upper Big Springs and Pond Outlet Restoration Project on the Leadore Land Partners (LLP) Conservation Easement (CE). The 80% design was completed in spring 2020. Big Springs Creek is entirely contained on the Leadore Land Partners CE, which closed in 2015, and is held by LRLT. This project was intended to improve habitat for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed spring Chinook Salmon and summer steelhead. LRLT proposed to construct a habitat rehabilitation project on approximately 3,400 feet of Big Springs Creek and to replace an upstream pond outlet. Big Springs Creek is a tributary of the Lemhi River and is a spring fed channel collecting groundwater and minor surface water. The project area is lacking riparian habitat and is over-straightened and over-widened. The project area has been heavily impacted by historic land use practices which have reduced channel complexity, floodplain connection, and riparian vegetation resulting in degraded habitat for anadromous fish. The Upper Big Springs and Pond Outlet completed plans and permits and was ready for installation, but the landowner became very difficult to contact, and therefore did not give final approval for the project to begin in fall 2021. The project was bid in September 2021, awarded in early October, and the contractor selected. However, the project could not move forward in spring 2022, again due to lack of landowner participation. PCSRF funds that were awarded for installation were therefore returned.
Project Benefit
The upper section of Big Springs Creek is lacking riparian habitat, is over-straightened, and over-widened. The project area has been heavily impacted by historic land use practices which have reduced channel complexity, floodplain connection, and riparian vegetation
resulting in degraded habitat for anadromous fish. Overall project goals were to improve habitat for limiting life stages of ESA-listed fish, restore natural channel processes to maintain diverse habitat, and to address shade targets set in the LLP Conservation Easement.
The overall project aimed to maximize short-term and long-term riparian and shade conditions, reduce the channel width to a more appropriate geometry, increase in-stream hydraulic diversity and velocity gradients, increase pool size and frequency, increase interstitial space along margins, and increase in-stream cover. The current pond outlet that drains warm water from the top of the pond was to be moved to a bottom-release outlet, letting cool water into Big Springs Creek.
Accomplishments
Instream Habitat |
Stream Miles Treated |
.00 |
.64 |
Riparian Habitat |
Stream Miles Treated |
.00 |
.64 |
Acres Treated |
.0 |
2.6 |
Funding Details |
PCSRF | $12,196 |
Other | $25,743 |
Report Total: | $37,939 |
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Worksites
WS-1
- Worksite Identifier: WS-1
- Start Date: 01/01/2021
- End Date: 12/31/2022
Area Description
Upper Big Springs and Pond Outlet Restoration Project
Location Information
- Basin: Salmon (170602)
- Subbasin: Lemhi (17060204)
- Watershed: Upper Lemhi River (1706020405)
- Subwatershed: Jakes Canyon-Lemhi River (170602040503)
- State: Idaho
- Recovery Domain: Snake River
- Latitude: 44.697609
- Longitude: -113.38661
ESU
- Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS
- Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon ESU
Map
Photos
Metrics
Metrics
- C.0
Salmonid Habitat Restoration and AcquisitionY (Y/N)
- . . C.0.a
Habitat restoration and acquisition funding 37,939.00
- . . C.0.b
Length of stream treated/protected .00
- . . C.0.c
Project identified in a Plan or Watershed Assessment | |
|
- . . C.0.d.1
Project Monitoring (LOV)
- . . C.0.d.2
Monitoring Location (LOV)
- . . C.4
Instream Habitat ProjectY (Y/N)
- . . . . C.4.a
Instream Habitat Funding 37,939.00
- . . . . C.4.b
Total length of instream habitat treated .00
- . . . . C.4.c.1
Channel reconfiguration and connectivityY (Y/N)
- . . . . . . C.4.c.2
Type of change to channel configuration and connectivity (LOV)
- . . . . . . C.4.c.3
Miles of stream treated for channel reconfiguration and connectivity .00
- . . . . . . C.4.c.4
Miles of off-channel stream created through channel reconfiguration and connectivity .00
- . . . . . . C.4.c.5
Acres of off-channel or floodplain connected through channel reconfiguration and connectivity .0
- . . . . . . C.4.c.6
Instream pools created/added through channel reconfiguration and connectivity 0
- . . . . C.4.d.1
Channel structure placementY (Y/N)
- . . . . . . C.4.d.2
Material used for channel structure (LOV)
- . . . . . . C.4.d.3
Miles of stream treated through channel structure placement .00
- . . . . . . C.4.d.5
Pools expected to be created through channel structure placement 0
- . . . . . . C.4.d.7
Number of structures placed in channel 0
- . . C.5
Riparian Habitat ProjectY (Y/N)
- . . . . C.5.a
Riparian Habitat Funding .00
- . . . . C.5.b.1
Total riparian miles streambank treated .00
- . . . . C.5.b.2
Total Riparian Acres Treated .0
- . . . . C.5.c.1
Riparian plantingY (Y/N)
- . . . . . . C.5.c.2
Species of plants planted in riparian | |
None |
- . . . . . . C.5.c.3
Acres planted in riparian .0
- . . . . . . C.5.c.4
Miles of streambank treated with riparian planting .00
- . . . . C.5.d.1
FencingY (Y/N)
- . . . . . . C.5.d.2
Miles of fence along stream .00
- . . . . . . C.5.d.3
Acres of riparian area protected by fencing .0
- . . . . C.5.f.1
Water gap developmentY (Y/N)
- . . . . . . C.5.f.2
Number of water gap installations 0
- . . . . . . C.5.f.3
Miles of streambank protected by water gap development .00
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