West Fork Little Bear Creek: Culvert Replacement Projects

The Latah Soil and Water Conservation District will replace two culverts in the West Fork Little Bear Creek (WFLBC) subwatershed in Latah County, ID to restore passage for steelhead and other aquatic organisms. In the summer of 2022, several stream crossings were assessed to determine if structures met the U.S. Forest Service Region 1 fish passage criteria (Hendrickson et al., 2008). Based on the assessment, two culverts were identified as inhibiting fish passage. One culvert where Randall Flat Road crosses Felton Creek and a culvert under a private driveway on lower Big Meadow Creek.



The project will improve fish passage at these two locations. Replacement of the culverts will improve longitudinal connectivity for steelhead to approximately 9.7 miles of historically accessible habitat on Felton Creek and 10.7 miles on Big Meadow Creek. This project builds upon previous fish passage projects. On Big Meadow Creek, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has implemented passage projects upstream and downstream of the proposed location. On Felton Creek, the Latah SWCD has replaced multiple culverts in the WFLBC subwatershed including the removal of Dutch Flat Dam, which opened up passage to Felton Creek.

Reconnecting high quality fish habitat should be an initial focus in watershed restoration actions (Roni et al., 2002). Fish passage is the primary factor limiting steelhead productivity in the WFLBC subwatershed and improving longitudinal connectivity (fish passage) has been identified as a primary process-based restoration strategy to increase access to tributary habitat (Latah SWCD 2019). The purpose of this project is to enhance fish passage for adult and juvenile steelhead (and other species) with the goal of increasing longitudinal connectivity and habitat capacity through improved access to underutilized or previously inaccessible habitat during key time periods for spawning and rearing. Steelhead productivity in the Potlatch River watershed appears to be highly density dependent (IDFG 2012). Improving passage will allow for additional access to key habitats and resources during important times of the year both upstream and downstream of the crossings and help to improve density dependent relationships.