Project Sponsor
Kootenai Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District
Purpose
This project restores 6,000 feet of riparian vegetation along two separate sections of Wolf Lodge Creek to reduce lateral streambank erosion and reestablish habitat for Westslope Cutthroat Trout. The Kootenai Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District worked with a private landowner and contractor to replace a rusted culvert located on a tributary to lower Wolf Lodge Creek and to stabilize adjacent streambanks. Willow planting started in 2023 and was completed in fall 2024. A temporary electric fence was placed in 2023 to keep livestock and wild animals away from the bank and the new willows protected. It will remain in place until the trees are established. Monitoring will continue through 2026.
This project continues nine years of restoration efforts in the Wolf Lodge watershed. More information is provided at Restoration Partnership.
Funding
This project received $158,337 from Governor Little’s Leading Idaho initiative.
Current Status
This project is complete. Willows were planted in 2023 and in 2024. The culvert was replaced in 2024. Monitoring of the willows and the culvert will continue, and the electric fence will be removed when the willows are established.
Outcome
This project is expected to reduce phosphorus loads to Coeur d’Alene Lake by approximately 94 pounds annually.