Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited

Trout Unlimited lies deep in the fishing culture throughout the United States. We are one of many organizations that’s mission involves bettering the streams and rivers of America. Every day, we work with partners from our hometowns, from across the country, and throughout the state. The American Fisheries Society (AFS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the conservation and sustainability of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems by advancing fisheries and aquatic science and promoting the development of fisheries professionals.  

Within our amazing conservation staff at Trout Unlimited, we have truly knowledgeable, dedicated, and passionate people who are committed to their home waters. Matthew Green is among one of these TU staffers; Matt was honored by The American Fisheries Society, Idaho Chapter with the 2022 Aquatic Habitat Award earlier this month (March 2022). The Aquatic Habitat Award strives to recognize significant or innovative work performed by AFS members. The project, which recognizes involvement, commitment, and collaboration from the landowner of Beyeler Ranch, Trout Unlimited, Lost River Fish Ecology LLC, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Program, and The Governer’s Office of Species Conservation was completed in late 2021. To me, it says a lot that one of our partners in restoration in the Upper Salmon River Basin nominated Matt for this award. Together, we get great work done that improves our rivers and streams.  

During the project, the teams worked together to ensure habitat complexity and abundance, floodplain connectivity, and improvement of riparian conditions for spring chinook salmon on private property owned and operated as a working cattle ranch by Beyeler Ranch in the Upper Lemhi Valley of Central Idaho. The project is one of many completed on this ranch over the last twelve years. The landowner has a history of salmon restoration which began with constructing a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy back in 2010. This particular project covers a 3,800-foot stretch of river that had an oversized channel, with little cover habitat. The streams pace was too consistent for positive fish habitat prior to completion of the project, with too few pools and riffles.  

One of the greatest challenges in this project was to complete the work without disrupting any existing spawning. The landowner also challenged the designer to complete designs that were minimally invasive. To the designers, this meant developing new wood and willow-based structures with little to no excavation required, as well as structures that helped develop forms and processes with chutes, pools, water backed up into floodplains, and riffles as would be expected when beavers (one of the main disturbances and, therefore habitat creators) were present. This project was the ultimate design of promoting natural channel processes and habitat development while challenging the implementation. 

Ultimately, twelve habitat specific treatments were designed and built including a large meander structure made of an assortment of log sizes and willow clumps that required no excavation. Another innovative structure was a “deflector” made to mimic an old, densely rooted willow clump with substantial erosion resistance. When used across from one another, they develop a chute that scours the bed and sorts the sediments in riffle crests suitable for spawning. Channel spanning wood jams were used to back water up and scour beneath them to re-deposit sediments immediately downstream for spawning grounds. The backwater from enhanced areas of channel spanners also helped form loosely stage-zero-like areas with low velocities and dense cover. 

In the end, the project blends well into the natural landscape of the ranch. We cannot wait to watch this develop into more complex habitat over the next few years. Congratulations to Matthew Green and the team of sponsors and supporters for your hard work and dedication to Idaho’s waters.  

Written by Matt Green-Trout Unlimited-Idaho Water and Habitat Program
Upper Salmon Project Manager

Jerry Myers is a former Trout Unlimited project manager that lives along Indian Creek, a tributary to the Salmon River. Located in the remote Salmon River Mountains of Central Idaho, every spring as the small stream swells with runoff, he and his family observe wild steelhead spawning. Most years, they find several redds and get to watch as the fish build their nests and lay their eggs in the pristine, cold waters that Indian Creek provides. Later that year as their offspring hatched and moved downstream, Jerry observed something that he knew to be problematic. The fish were in an irrigation ditch that would be turned off as soon as the irrigation season ended, stranding those fish, and ending their seaward journey far too soon. Jerry describes, “Arguably, Indian Creek on the Salmon River is one of the toughest drainages in Idaho to support irrigated pastures. It’s steep, it’s confined in a narrow canyon and until recently, seven ditch diversions totally de-watered the stream…” The ditch irrigates several small pastures for downstream landowners. Jerry adds, “100-year-old practices had to change.” Indian Creek not only provides ideal habitat for steelhead but also has populations of juvenile Chinook Salmon, Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout. As temperatures increase in the Salmon River during the summer months the cold waters of Indian Creek provide a refuge for native fish.

Over several years, Jerry and I were able to convince many landowners into partnering in an irrigation project that would help eliminate fish entrainment in their ditch systems. The timing had to be just right as all landowners had to be onboard with the concept in order for it to be successful. “The agreement to work together and share a common fish screened diversion took two decades,” Jerry says, “That is the reality of working in western watersheds, it takes time as well as an understanding of the local challenges. Trout Unlimited was here for the long haul.”

In the spring of 2021, after several years of landowner negotiations, funding requests (Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Funds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife funding, and landowner match), permit applications, and designs (Natural Resource Conservation Services), we were finally able to implement the project. This included a fish screen provided by Idaho Department of Fish and Game and a new buried irrigation pipeline that provided gravity fed irrigation for all the landowners.

Not only does this new system keep fish from entering the irrigation system and dying, but it also gives the landowners a low maintenance, efficient irrigation system that can double as a way to fight ever increasing forest fire threats -a true win-win for all involved. Jerry says it takes, “Patience, perseverance, collaboration and an organization willing to take the lead.” Along with help from landowners and partners mentioned above, the Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Program provided instrumental assistance with design review and permitting for this project. We are excited to finally see the completion of this project in our home waters.

The deadline to apply for the Idaho State Council of Trout Unlimited graduate school scholarship is March 15, 2022.

Information on the scholarship is on our education page at https://tuidaho.org/education/ with a link to the application form from that page.

Students who are (or become) members of an Idaho Chapter of Trout Unlimited and enrolled at the graduate level at an Idaho university, researching native or endemic coldwater fish, or a related field are encouraged to apply.

Trout Unlimited has established this paid internship program for a college students to learn about, contribute to, and participate in many aspects of Trout Unlimited’ s priorities, programs and projects in Idaho. Trout Unlimited’ s goal is to provide work experience to a college student who is interested in learning about various career opportunities and activities of a national non-profit conservation organization. The intern will receive a stipend of $4,500.00 for 8 weeks work.

The opportunity is hybrid, but the intern must be located within the Treasure Valley during the time of their work.

Apply for the Internship by 2/25/22 here

Find all of our other currently available job listings here

Removal of the Red Ives Dam has been anticipated for over 20 years! And the dam wasn’t giving up easy even when it came down to its final days.  A fire had compromised the major access road to the forest, and it was headed in the direction of the major other access road.  This situation led the Forest to close the area in which the dam was located to public access and management of the area was temporally handed over to a Type 1 fire team.  Getting permission into the site seemed unlikely, but it was thankfully granted to the team and the weather cooperated to allow for removal of the Red Ives Dam.

Trout Unlimited partnered with the St. Joe Rangers Station of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest to remove the Red Ives Dam this August using funds supplied by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, Idaho Conservation League, Resources Legacy Fund, and the Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Partnership.  The Red Ives Dam was built in the 1930s to provide power to the nearby ranger station until the mid 1980s.  This project was the first project to hit the ground as a partnership between the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and Trout Unlimited.

Even though the fire was compromising the access into the forest, the project area was not in immediate threat and the skies were clearer and the temperatures cooler than anywhere outside the Forest.  Between the remote forest setting with none of the typical August crowds and the lack of traffic to manage, the project setting was idyllic. Our only visitors were the local marten, beavers, and the occasional firefighter completing their rounds.

The dam proved to be of hardy construction representative of the times it was built.  Far more concrete and rebar than the partners anticipated, but once the contractors solidified their method for hammering, the Red Ives Dam days were quickly done. Once all remnants of the dam were removed, the channel was regraded with a couple pools and a debris jam to provide cover for the native westslope cutthroat and bull trout.  Red Ives Creek is one of the last remaining streams in which bull trout spawn, removal of the dam has opened the pathway to more habitat for the fish and for future phases of restoration on the waterway.

Here are some of the key events, accomplishments and forces affecting Idaho’s trout, salmon and steelhead resource in 2020. Every year Idaho Trout Unlimited compiles the top ten stories affecting trout, salmon and steelhead in the Gem State.  For previous years top ten check out years 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

1.     Are we making progress on restoring the salmon and steelhead to Idaho’s waters? There are indications that hint at positive movement. Included is the Columbia River Partnership issuing its report in October with an overarching message of urgency that immediate action is needed to address salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Also the Idaho Salmon Workgroup ends 2020 issuing a final report

These examples are balanced by the familiar: the Federal dam and hydropower agencies completed their Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and decided on an alternative to not do anything serious about the dams which are the biggest problem for salmon survival. TheFeds choice of  status quo management is analogous to a salmon’s strong homing instinct. And Bonneville Power Administration reverted to form hiring consultant to produce a report arguing that salmon and steelhead from rivers without dams have also experienced declines (it has been debunked https://www.fpc.org/documents/memos/53-20.pdf), implying the dams should not be blamed.

2.     Blackfoot River and Reservoir in Southeast Idaho – and the watershed surrounding it – are home to a restoration success story. Since 2011, TU has been working together with the Idaho Conservation League and three phosphate mining companies to reconnect and restore habitat and reduce avian predation to rebuild what was once a robust adfluvial (i.e. lake-migratory) Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) population. This year saw the best spawning return numbers in nearly 20 years. More than 1,500 large adult spawners were counted as they made their way from the lake into upstream spawning habitat in the Blackfoot River. As recently as 2006, that number had dipped to fewer than 20 fish. To date, the phosphate companies have contributed almost $2 million dollars to YCT conservation projects in the watershed – money that TU has matched nearly 1:1 with federal and state grant funding. All the hard work appears to be paying off. The person responsible for most of that hard work was Matt Woodard, TU’s longest-tenured western Project Manager. Earlier this year Matt rode off into the sunset of retirement having reconnected and restored over 100 miles of stream for native cutthroat trout in both the Blackfoot and the South Fork Snake rivers. Now Matt is the President of the Snake River Cutthroats Chapter based in Idaho Falls.

3.     It seemed more crowded on the stream this year. And here is some evidence. Fishing and hunting license sales in Idaho are up compared to 2019. Through October, last year’s sales totaled 640,000 and this year, to date, is 62,000 higher, a nearly  ten percent increase. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spotlight outdoor recreation as one of the few healthiest, safest options for activity, hunting and fishing pursuits have increased.   

4.     The Lemhi River watershed celebrates nearly 30 years of sustained progress in habitat improvement thanks to cooperative actions of ranchers, government agencies and other organizations. Initiated during the Administration of Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus, a variety of projects have been implemented and is captured in this new video from the Life on the Range series of the Idaho Rangeland Conservation Commission. https://youtu.be/UldrtOnp1n4

As part of the suite of projects in 2020 the River of No Return Chapter of Trout Unlimited completed a project at Indian springs and also installed signs at locations in the valley touting the importance of salmon,steelhead and habitat work across the valley. Trout Unlimited is also restoring habitat complexity along 1.6 miles of Hayden Creek, rebuilding the lower 0.7 miles of Canyon Creek, and implementing a suite of projects to improve juvenile salmon and steelhead rearing habitat in the Lemhi River.

5.     Since 2004 TU has been working to restore and reconnect habitat in the Bear River watershed for its unique population of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (BCT). Interestingly, Bear River BCT are more closely related genetically to Yellowstone Cutthroat than they are to their Bonneville brethren to the south! These fish are highly migratory, using main stem river and lake habitats to feed and grow, then migrating long distances into headwater tributaries to spawn every spring. As such, they depend on intact migration corridors and healthy habitat throughout the watershed.

TU’s Bear River 
Project Manager, Jim DeRito, and
 others have worked with project partners to 
install more than 25 fish screens and to remove at least that many upstream migration barriers (e.g. culverts, diversion dams) in order to restore functioning migration corridors for these fish and it’s really working. In the early 2000’s fewer than 10 percent of the BCT in Bear Lake were wild fish. Without dependable access to spawning tributaries, the Bear Lake BCT population was entirely dependent on hatchery propagation. In 2010, TU completed its first of several tributary reconnection projects, and four years later the percentage of wild fish had increased to 60 percent. These days, anglers report that roughly eight out of every 10 cutthroat caught in the lake are wild fish!

In 2020, working together with PacifiCorp’s Environmental Coordination Committee and its member organizations, TU will implement several more restoration projects on Bear River tributaries, including decommissioning a hydropower plant on Paris Creek that will restore flows and habitat to three miles of this important Bear River tributary.

6.     South Fork Snake River. Late November 2020 Idaho Fish and Game reported continued healthy populations on the South Fork Snake River. https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/high-trout-numbers-continue-south-fork-snake-river-0  The South Fork contains the largest population of native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout of Idaho’s magnificent rivers. This is a result of inherent high productivity of the river system, effective fishing regulations that encourage the catch and release ethic, modern management of river flows in the Upper Snake River system, and in the past couple of decades a number of fish habitat restoration projects. In 2001,Trout Unlimited designated the South Fork Snake a “Home Rivers” and staff and financial resources in habitat projects. TU’s Matt Woodard focused on the South Fork Snake for many years with projects in important spawning tributaries such as Garden Creek, Rainey Creek and Pine Creek.

7.     Teton River. It is time to give the Teton River its due. And that of the many groups who have been hard at work improving the aquatic habitat of the Teton River. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council recently featured the efforts at https://www.nwcouncil.org/news/innovative-water-agreement-helping-restore-yellowstone-cutthroat-trout-teton-river noting the rebound of the fishery from its low point in 2003.

8.     Tincup Creek in Eastern Idaho, a tributary to the Snake River upstream of Palisades Reservoir, has been the site of a four-year restoration project, completed in 2020. Each year the construction crews, assisted by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest specialists, and Trout Unlimited staff and volunteers from numerous chapters in the area, to advance the restoration work. In fact, volunteers from both Idaho and Wyoming participated seeing as Tincup Creek flows from Idaho into Wyoming, meets the Snake River and flows back into Idaho. More background about the project is at this Forest Service link https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ctnf/home/?cid=FSEPRD787009 and the Snake River Cutthroats Chapter states, “As this section of the creek stabilizes and Native cutthroat trout re-establish in natural numbers, look for it to become a destination for small stream enthusiasts.”

9.     Raising Anderson Ranch Dam and storing more water behind it was the subject of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement released this summer by the Bureau of Reclamation. The additional space created to capture and later release water into the South Fork of the Boise River could have impacts on the function of the river and the wild trout fishery that is southwest Idaho’s premiere stream. The proposal will continue in 2021 towards a decision to pursue the project with the state of Idaho that will cost upwards of $90 million to construct. Several mitigation measures were proposed by Idaho Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited in comments to the Bureau.

10.  The pandemic and COVID-19 and its sweeping effects on society also touched the fishing and conservation community. Conservation and education activities have been readjusted to online meetings, or in the case of youth activities such as the Trout Unlimited Trout Camp, were cancelled. Volunteer conservation in the field has been postponed or conducted so volunteers maintain physical distance to prevent spread of the SARS-CoVid2 coronavirus. Let’s hope 2021 brings a return to these important activities that help sustain the future fisheries of Idaho.