The Dresser Creek culvert after replacement allows fish passage
After many years, westslope cutthroat trout have free access to two miles of cold, high-elevation habitat that was blocked by an undersized culvert near the mouth of Dresser Creek in the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River headwaters. This single obstacle had a big impact on the fish of this drainage high in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (IPNF). After decades of waiting and planning, a collaborative effort seized the opportunity to replace the culvert and restore passage.
Securing the Resources
Despite being a high-priority project for the IPNF, replacing the culvert was a difficult project to implement. Securing the necessary funding to implement the project was a key hurdle.
Thanks to a national keystone agreement between the USDA Forest Service and Trout Unlimited, the project was finally able to move forward with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. The new funding agreement made it possible for the existing Dresser Creek culvert to be replaced with a larger squashed steel structure.
Making it Happen
A local contractor, J&P Services, completed the Dresser Creek culvert replacement in October 2023 with construction oversight by staff from Trout Unlimited and IPNF. After purchasing the new squashed steel culvert, hauling the necessary rock material, installing the new culvert, and resurfacing the road, the construction of the project was finished. According to Trout Unlimited’s North Idaho Program Manager, Erin Plue, “Stream work on the downstream side of the culvert allowed the slope in the culvert to be reduced, helping to assure long-term benefit of this pipe.”
Thanks to working together, the migration of westslope cutthroat trout and other aquatic species is now restored into this high-quality stream habitat.
Before Dresser Creek culvert replacement
After Dresser Creek culvert replacement