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by Scott EvansIdaho’s NewsChannel 7 Posted on November 4, 2009...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:20:58 -0500

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.

idahotrout: Teton Canyon — A Wild Legacy at Risk Idaho’s Teton...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:30:42 -0400

idahotrout:

Teton Canyon — A Wild Legacy at Risk

Idaho’s Teton River Canyon is a stronghold for native cutthroat trout and a wild national treasure — but it’s threatened by a proposal to rebuild Teton Dam, which failed disastrously in 1975. TU is leading the fight to save the canyon and is proposing commonsense alternatives to a new dam.

Photo

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:22:05 -0400

Photo

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:24:44 -0400

IDFG Electrofishing South Fork Boise

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:15 -0400

southforkboise:

IDFG crews are on their marking run this week on the South Fork Boise River. They were to complete the first phase during Tuesday and Wednesday, and then come back next week for the recapture run.

Fwd: Idaho TU Council Meeting - Draft Agenda

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:59:00 -0400

idahotrout:

Folks,

I have the first draft of an agenda for the October 17 meeting, which is only 8 days away. Please give me your input on these agenda items, the times committed for each, and additional items you’d like to discuss:

Saturday, 10/17/09

Time Description

9:00-9:15 Introduction and Welcome Reports

9:15-9:30 Financial/Membership Report

9:30-9:40 Trustee’s Report

9:40-9:50 Annual Meeting Report

9:50-10:00 Elect an NLC Delegate Old Business

10:00-10:15 Website Development

10:15-10:45 Minigrants

10:45-11:00 BREAK New Business

11:00-11:20 Teton Dam Issues

11:20-11:30 Embrace-A-Stream Grants

11:30-1:00 Lunch and Tour of Local Conservation Project

1:00-2:30 Anadromous Fisheries Discussion

2:30-2:45 Break

2:45-2:55 2010 Legislature

2:55-3:15 Conservation Education (Youth) Initiatives

3:15-3:30 Embrace-A-Stream Grants Process 3:30-4:00 Strategic Plan Workgroups

4:0 0-4:15 Workgroup Reports

4:15 Adjourn

I know that you don’t know what all of these topics are addressing, but don’t worry all will be made clear as we get closer, and remember this is very much a work in progress. AS to those items you do recognize, please let me know if you think changes or additions are necessary. If you previously proposed an agenda topic to me, and it does not appear here, just assume I missed your point, and propose it again.

The meeting is at the Marriott Springhill Suites, 425 E. Parkcenter Blvd., Boise, (208) 342-1044.

James

On September 19, 2009 the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout...

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:49:00 -0400

On September 19, 2009 the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited organized a group of 40 volunteers who worked for two hours and placed nine cubic yards of spawning gravel in Heron Creek, a small tributary to the Boise River in the River Run subdivision in southeast Boise.

Thanks again to the River Run Homeowners Association, Boise Parks and Recreation, Idaho Fish and Game, Rotary Club of Boise, Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Southwest Idaho Soccer League for their assistance in this project.

A beaver dam has been built on the outlet of Julia Creek.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:36:00 -0400

A beaver dam has been built on the outlet of Julia Creek.

New video on Snake River Salmon, from the Save our Wild Salmon...

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:28:00 -0400

New video on Snake River Salmon, from the Save our Wild Salmon Coalition. Found at the FFF blog http://ospreysteelheadnews.blogspot.com

"When the numbers don't fit the decision the numbers must be disposed of"

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:41:47 -0400

Here’s an interesting footnote buried in the Federal government documents in 2008 that decided the salmon runs are doing just great, thank you.

“Several metrics are used in NOAA Fisheries analysis because “no one metric assesses by itself the status of a give ESU to the degree necessary to render a jeopardy determination. Any single metric is sensitive to different assumptions and measures different aspects of species’ status…Accordingly NOAA Fisheries’ jeopardy determination will not rely on a single, formulaic analysis. Instead, in exercising its scientific judgment, NOAA Fisheries will consider and synthesize a variety of metrics in common usage.” Memorandum from Bob Lohn to PWG, 9-11-2006 (NMFS 2006h)”

In other words, the data were tortured but still failed to confess what the Federal dam operators and NOAA wanted.

Fish and Game Commission raises the bag limit on steelhead

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:43:00 -0400

Fish and Game Commission raises the bag limit on steelhead

Nice fish, but we can’t tell you from where.

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:37:30 -0400

Nice fish, but we can’t tell you from where.

Did Feds Sandbag the numbers supporting the Significant Decline...

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:45:00 -0400

Did Feds Sandbag the numbers supporting the Significant Decline Triggers to keep dam breaching at bay?

The Obama Administration submitted its plan to the Federal court Sept. 11 on management of the Federal dams. For the most part they embraced the plan developed by the Federal dam agencies during the Bush Administration.

An addition to the plan was an Adaptive Management Implementation Plan (AMIP) to infuse accelerated activities to conserve salmon. The AMIP addresses the always controversial topic of removing the four Lower Snake River dams. Buried in the AMIP is a contingency that if fish runs decline significantly in the next ten years a series of actions will be triggered, and reportedly last on the list is a plan to initiate a study about removing one or more of the lower Snake River dams.

For wild/naturally spawning Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook salmon, the AMIP sets an Early Warning indicator of 7,575 fish for a four-year running average. A Significant Decline Trigger is set at 4,850 fish. These numbers are at the 80th and 90th percentile (lowest) respectably, based on data from Lower Granite Dam fish counts 1982-2008.

The metrics are based a time frame that ignores data from earlier years. If all the data were used the Early Warning indicator rises to 7,925 fish and the Significant Decline Trigger jumps to 5,875 (see comparison charts above). The Feds use a fish count starting in 1979, coincidentally the year the fish returns were an all-time low (later broken in the even worse mid-1990s). They exclude the earlier years when there were more fish returning. If the full data set is used the Significant Decline Trigger number rises and therefore a greater chance that the number will be reached, a prospect the Feds appear to want to avoid. But ignoring the information sets up the same legal vulnerability that existed in 1994 when the state of Idaho sued and won in court over the Feds illegal salmon plan.

Better trout habitat results from nine yards of spawning gravel...

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:15:00 -0400

Better trout habitat results from nine yards of spawning gravel divided by 40 volunteers working two hours each.

Photo

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:14:30 -0400

FWD:

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:46:42 -0400

FWD:

Roger Phillips makes his presentation at the Ted Trueblood...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:40:00 -0400

Roger Phillips makes his presentation at the Ted Trueblood Chapter meeting.

Replacement of the Hayfork Culvert on Mores Creek has been...

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:59:00 -0400

Replacement of the Hayfork Culvert on Mores Creek has been underway for several weeks. When complete more than four miles of Mores Creek will be open to fish passage into the relatively pristine headwaters!

One biologist with the Boise National Forest said, “The long awaited day is here! The Mores Creek culvert (Forest Road 025K) replacement project is moving forward. The Boise MIS crew cleared the site of fish. They relocated 21 rainbow trout, two brook trout and 58 tailed frogs. Construction started this morning and by 1300 water was going through the bypass.”

The Ted Trueblood Chapter is supporting this project with an Embrace a Stream grant from the national Trout Unlimited organization.

southforkboise: Flows from Anderson Ranch Dam are now at the...

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:00:00 -0400

southforkboise:

Flows from Anderson Ranch Dam are now at the wadeable 600 cfs.

Now the wade fishing on the South Fork Boise River gets into high gear.

The White House has finally released photos of the President fly...

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:11:00 -0400

The White House has finally released photos of the President fly fishing in Montana in August.