Restoration mostly done on part of Silver Creek

KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) - A $1 million restoration project on a portion of famed Silver Creek in central Idaho is mostly finished.

The project started last fall to restore Kilpatrick Pond to more natural conditions is done except for replanting that’s set for the next two growing seasons, The Idaho Mountain Express reported (https://bit.ly/1haCu8L) in a story on Friday.

The work is intended to lower high water temperatures and reduce sediment buildup at the pond by moving a channel and creating adjacent wetlands.

Silver Creek is a nationally renowned destination for fly fishers trying to catch trout in the crystal-clear spring water that produces many insect hatches.

The Nature Conservancy owns Silver Creek Preserve that is downstream from the pond, and it says the conditions at the pond have been affecting water quality for about 15 miles downstream.

Conservation Manager Dayna Gross said the pond’s dam has been replaced. Four pipes have also been put in place to release water, and a fish ladder goes over the top.

“Now the fish can get up and down the system,” she said.

The work had been planned for next fall, but managers decided to do the work early because water flows were low and there was no snow in the area, Gross said.

Planting this spring will include rushes and sedges placed around the ponds at different levels, she said.

“It will take a while to get established,” Gross said. “This year it will look pretty barren.”

Shrubs will be planted in the fall, she said.

The Natural Resources Conservation Council’s Wetlands Reserve Program provided a $50,000 grant that paid for 75 percent of the cost of the plants, Gross said.

The Nature Conservancy, she said, will have spent by next spring about $200,000.

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Information from: Idaho Mountain Express, https://www.mtexpress.com