Silver Creek has long been recognized as one of the finest spring creeks in the country. A new enhancement plan seeks to make it even better.
The Nature Conservancy has announced that it will work with Ecosystem Sciences, a non-profit Boise-based consulting firm, to develop a comprehensive plan to restore stretches of Silver Creek and its tributaries that need most help, and to use the restoration methods that will have the most conservation benefit. The effort will result in habitat projects that benefit the fishery as well as many wildlife species.
“The goal of this project is to improve the fish and wildlife habitat on a watershed level at Silver Creek, and to make it the most resilient it can be for the long term,” says Dayna Gross, the Conservancy’s Silver Creek Preserve manager.
Ecosystem Sciences will create a comprehensive, integrated watershed plan for the creek by examining the entire watershed, including tributaries and all land and water uses.
“We are so pleased to be working with a firm that takes a holistic view of the entire watershed,” says Gross. “We believe this offers an incredible future for Silver Creek.”
The enhancement effort at Silver Creek will address increased water temperature, as well as sediment loading. Increased water temperatures have contributed to fish kills in years when less water is in the stream.
For the past 35 years, Silver Creek has been a successful conservation project due to community support. The enhancement plan will likewise be driven by community involvement, with a series of public meetings to gather input from stakeholders. The public is invited and encouraged to attend and participate.
The first meeting will be at noon March 25 at the Picabo General Store. A complete meeting schedule follows.
If you are interested in attending or participating, please contact Dayna Gross at 208-788-7910.
Public Meetings
March 25 – noon, Picabo Store
March 25- 3:30 pm, The Nature Conservancy’s Hailey Office
April 22 – noon, Picabo Store
April 24 – noon, Picabo Store
April 26 – 5: 30 pm, The Nature Conservancy’s Hailey Office
May 29 – Opening Day. Presentations for review and input at the Silver Creek Visitor Center all day.
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SaveSilverCreek.org is very pleased to see that The Nature Conservancy of Idaho has taken great measures to help preserve Silver Creek in Idaho by teaming up with Ecosystem Sciences to begin the process of creating an overall view of the Silver Creek watershed. This process will hopefully bring together landowners, The Nature Conservancy and Silver Creek users to find common ground for the preservation and restoration of Silver Creek. This is a much needed process and the SSCStaff is pleased to be a part of this. You can find the facts on Silver Creek and historical data as far back as 1947 at www.savesilvercreek.org. We also have a new sister site for historical aerial images at www.sscmapping.com. A big thank you goes out to The Nature Conservancy for this giant step forward in the preservation of Silver Creek!
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