Yellowdog Creek Nursed Back to Health

North Idaho’s Yellowdog Creek Nursed Back to Health by Local, State and Federal Partnership

Contact: USDA/USFS Jason Kirchner, Forest Public Affairs Officer, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Office: (208) 765-7211 Cell: (208) 661-8080, jdkirchner@fs.fed.us; Kajsa Eagle Stromberg, Watershed Coordinator, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, General: (208) 769-1422 Direct: (208) 666-4633, Kajsa.Stromberg@deq.idaho.gov; Mark MacIntyre, Senior Public Affairs Officer, U.S. EPA, Desk: (206) 553-7302 or Cell: 369-7999, macintyre.mark@epa.gov 

(Coeur d’Alene, ID – February 28, 2012) Northern Idaho’s Yellowdog Creek, impaired for decades by eroding forest road sediment, is coming back to life thanks to the work of local partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (Idaho DEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to Mary Farnsworth, Idaho Panhandle National Forests Supervisor, several USFS-led watershed restoration projects have stabilized erosion prone areas, helped bring back stream-cooling vegetation and allowed native cutthroat trout to thrive once again.   The watershed restoration efforts also helped to support the local economy by employing local companies to implement stream improvement and road removal projects.

"Our work in Yellowdog Creek is just one of many great examples where restoration is making a difference on our lands and for the local communities that rely on them," said Farnsworth. "In the coming months and years our communities can expect to see more projects that emphasize restoring the health of our treasured National Forests while also creating social and economic benefits for our communities."

Yellowdog Creek is part of the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River system, draining the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of northern Idaho. Most of the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene (North Fork) and its tributaries lie within the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, managed by the USFS. Intensive timber harvest and road building occurred through much of the area from 1890 until the early 2000s. Over the years, runoff and floodwaters continued to erode and wash out roads, particularly those near or adjacent to streams. The sediment negatively affected the region’s important fisheries by degrading habitat and suffocating insects and fish eggs.

Stream assessments beginning in the early 1990’s told a somber story of an unhealthy stream, choked with sediment and declining populations of insects and fish. To address the stream’s poor health, Idaho DEQ developed a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) or “pollution budget” for Yellowdog Creek and nearby streams. The TMDL helped guide restoration by creating tangible targets for sediment reduction.

The USFS conducted a multi-pronged restoration campaign between 2000 and 2006, dramatically reducing sediment in the stream. A 2009 survey identified diverse aquatic insect communities, and a burgeoning fish population featuring sculpin, westslope cutthroat trout and longnose dace—all native species that are typically associated with cold, clear and healthy waters. The profound improvement has even allowed Idaho DEQ to propose removal of Yellowdog Creek from the state’s list of sediment impaired waters this year!

Those familiar with the project are crediting sound stream science, a problem-solving attitude and a commitment by all partners to “pull on the rope in the same direction” as the keys to success in Yellowdog Creek. The Idaho DEQ Nonpoint Source Management Program, together with the USFS crafted and launched an ambitious plan that featured numerous restoration projects in the Yellowdog Creek and the adjacent Downey Creek watersheds. For funding, the partners leveraged nearly $1 million in funding from timber sale receipts to fuel watershed restoration in Yellowdog and Downey creeks along the North Fork.

The funding allowed the USFS to implement restoration work throughout the watershed that included:

*Rerouting roads to maintain public access while reducing road density in the watershed by 60 percent.

*Reducing sediment pollution by stabilizing eroding stream banks and re-planting road surfaces and riparian areas.

*Removing two miles of road directly adjacent to the stream in the lower watershed and removing 111 stream crossings

*Restoring stream banks and replenishing riparian areas by anchoring more than 750 logs in the stream channel and installing boulders to create 100 pool-forming structures.

(The logs and boulder structures helped to stabilize the stream by providing a gentler grade and offering cover for all stages of fish and insect life.)

Kajsa Stromberg, Idaho DEQ Watershed Coordinator applauds the USFS efforts.

“The recovery in Yellowdog Creek demonstrates how a good, coordinated watershed restoration project can bring a degraded mountain stream back to life. Thanks to the hard work of a lot of folks, especially the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River Watershed Advisory Group, Yellowdog Creek is living proof that recovery is possible.“

Numerous partners participated with USFS in planning and implementation, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Idaho DEQ, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, North Idaho Fly Casters and the Kootenai Environmental Alliance. USEPA provided funds to monitor stream health and measure the water quality benefits of road improvement projects.

Encouraged by the revival of Yellowdog Creek the USFS and its partners vow to “work their restoration magic” and revitalize many more streams along the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River.

EPA Senior Natural Resource Advisor, Don Martin summed it up:

“The US Forest Service and Idaho DEQ deserve a lot of credit for their vision, leadership and years of hard work,” said Martin. “By restoring Yellowdog Creek, an important tributary, they are helping the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene run clean, cold and healthy.”