Lower Boise River Wetlands Restoration Project

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Lower Boise River Wetlands Restoration Project

• Sponsor Pioneer Irrigation District
• Presenter Scott L. Campbell
• Legal Counsel for Pioneer
• January 16, 2002

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• Overview
• Watershed description
• Rationale and significance to regional program
• Project description
• Project benefits

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• The Boise-Payette-Weiser Subbasins total 8,800
  square miles (mi2)
• Lands within these subbasins are under intensive
  land use practices
• The Lower Boise River is a 64-mile stretch that
  flows from Lucky Peak Dam above Boise, Idaho, to
  the Snake River below Parma, Idaho

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Boise 1936
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• Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management
  Project (ICBEMP) assessment concluded that
  historic development of the ICRB over the last
  150 years has greatly altered ecological
  processes to the detriment of many native species
  of fish and wildlife (ICBEMP 2000)

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• Among many findings of relevance to the
  Boise-Payette?Weiser Subbasins, the assessment
  concluded that
• Aquatic diversity and resilience are dependent on
  the maintenance of complex habitats and networks
  of those habitats at multiple spatial scales
• Conserving the remaining watershed and habitats
  that have a high value for aquatic species is key
  to maintaining system integrity
• Restoring or maintaining the integrity of river
  corridors bordered by private lands will be
  particularly important

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• Water quality investigations concluded that the
  Lower Boise River is a water quality impaired
  river, under guidelines from the Federal Clean
  Water Act
• Between concerns for water quality improvements,
  and a desire for holistic restoration of the
  lower Boise watershed, this proposal has been
  developed to construct a wetlands restoration
  project to meet all of these needs

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• Mason Creek, a tributary to the Lower Boise
  River, has been evaluated as a priority site for
  water quality and habitat improvement. This
  proposal will address the development,
  construction, and maintenance of seven wetlands
  (cells) to improve water quality, restore wetland
  habitat, and create new wildlife habitat.

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Questions?
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