by Scott Evans
Idaho’s NewsChannel 7

Posted on November 4, 2009 at 10:59 PM

Updated today at 11:51 AM

IDAHO CITY — The 1862 gold rush in the Boise Basin is where the development of the state of Idaho began.

For decades miners traveled to Boise County looking for Gold and other precious metals. While looking to get rich - the landscape suffered. Trees and creeks all but destroyed. But soon, some of that will change, thanks to students from Horseshoe Bend, Idaho City and Garden Valley planting hundreds of trees.

Up until 1939, miners would dredge the area around Grimes Creek in Boise County.

“Basically turn the valley floor upside down extracting gold,” said Pam Elkovich who is the Boise River restoration coordinator for Trout Unlimited.    

That left shallow riverbeds and a creek that no longer winds through the valley — a problem for fish.

“There’s no longer long meanders through the valley and there’s not much complexity left to the system and fish need complexity,” said Elkovich.  

To help restore what once was, students from Idaho City, Horseshoe Bend and Garden Valley pulled out their shovels, gloves and work clothes to plant trees along Grimes Creek near Centerville.

“It helps cool down the water so the fish don’t die of thermal pollution by the sun,” said Sarah Fry who is a senior at Horseshoe Bend High School.

“So they have a more suitable habitat for living,” said Tyler Rainey who is a 7th grader from Idaho City.

Dig. Plant. Cover. Over and over these students planted hundreds of cottonwood trees.

“This is a way to educate the students, give them a perspective of what natural resources are available in the county, how they’ve been used in the past, and for them to vision how they can be involved in the future,” said Jamie Anderson, Boise County Commissioner.

Volunteers have been working towards that end for years. In 2006, the same thing was done a few miles downstream, along the banks of Mores Creek. That appears to be working.

“This is the first year that we saw the kokanee salmon make it all the way up to our restoration site.  It’s very important.  It’s critical to wildlife. There’s a whole host of animals that depend on those fish, and those fish are an indicator to our water quality. If the fish are doing well, then everything is doing pretty well in the system,” said Elkovich.   

What took years to scar will take years to heal.

“They’re going to see a forest here later where it was just rock cobble,” said Elkovich.