Pahsimeroi River Dowton Fence

Mount Hood Environmental (MHE) installed 2.19 miles of jack fence on the lower Pahsimeroi River near Ellis, Idaho to exclude cattle from the riparian area and river channel. The project protected approximately 2.95 miles of streambank and 37 acres of riparian vegetation. Protection of this riverine habitat will reduce water quality impairments and cattle trampling of ESA-listed Chinook Salmon redds and improve habitat complexity by increasing wood recruitment. These actions will benefit multiple life stages of salmonids and help improve fish productivity in the lower reaches of the Pahsimeroi River.

While MHE did not receive a grant through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program as anticipated, they did receive an Idaho Nonpoint Source Grant Project State Agricultural Grant for Watershed and Aquifer Implementation Activities to help fund the project.

The Pahsimeroi River Dowton Fence project will help protect critical habitat for multiple life stages of Snake River ESU Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon and Snake River Basin ESU steelhead in the lower Pahsimeroi River, particularly Chinook Salmon spawning habitat. The fence will exclude cattle from accessing the river, preventing them from trampling streambanks and Chinook Salmon redds. The protection of riparian habitat will promote regrowth of deep-rooted vegetation and enhance water quality through reduced sedimentation and increased shading. Increases in riparian vegetation will lead to increases in wood recruitment and over-hanging vegetation, two important components of fish cover and habitat complexity. By pro-tecting Chinook Salmon spawning habitat, and improving incubation, rearing and migration conditions, the proposed project will benefit multiple life stages of endangered salmonids in 2.95 miles of river.