UBC is providing funding to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) for an ambitious, multi-year project to restore the six-mile reach of the Blackfoot River that flows through the IDFG’s wildlife management area (WMA). UBC was the initial underwriter of the project’s design work but is now just one of several funders for the project’s implementation phase.
 

The Blackfoot River WMA is located approximately 18 miles northeast of Soda Springs and includes the uppermost reach of the Blackfoot River, immediately downstream of the confluence of Lanes and Diamond Creek. IDFG broke ground on the project late last  year at the 100 Tree Site upstream of the WMA Headquarters. The 2020 work will focus on stabilizing eroding streambanks to reduce sediment reaching the river, placing trees and boulders in the stream and along the banks to provide more diverse habitat for trout, constructing riffles, and planting willows.

Expected benefits:

1.  Immediate enhancement of fish habitat in channel and riparian areas.​​
      a. Increased ability for lateral channel migration and off-channel microhabitat formation​. 
      b. Enhancement of riparian vegetation community biomass and diversity.
      c. Immediate reduction in sedimentation rates.

2. Reduction in Pelican predation rates on Yellowstone cutthroat trout (YCT).

3. Maintaining of traditional land use practices in adjacent uplands with meaningful benefits to YCT.

4. Strengthened relationship with local livestock producers, private landowners, and mining industry partners in the basin.

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