Saving water through irrigation changes

This week we showcased our first irrigation project focused on water conservation! We installed a variable rate irrigation (VRI) system on the Point of Rocks pivot. We are hopeful this will be the first of many of these VRI systems in the valley.

This is the first of its kind in Idaho, even though the technology was developed at the Unviversity of Idaho twenty years ago. One of the 'tipping points' identified by Bill PLatts at the first enhancement plan meeting was the groundwater level. He said he had seen spring creeks dry up in just ten years from too much groundwater pumping. We need to make sure that never happens at Silver Creek and this may be a useful tool in that effort. Every time the pivot makes a circle (every two days, roughly), with this technology we will be saving over 419,000 gallons of water!! That is 419,000 gallons that can stay in the aquifer for Silver Creek.

Field Visits

Ecosystem Sciences Foundation will spend the next two weeks at Silver Creek. Next week, they will be meeting individually with landowners and natural resource professionals. The following week will be spent in the field verifying the mapping while exploring and studying the creek. Several meetings have already been set, but they do have room in their schedules if you would like to arrange a site visit. Please call Dayna at 788-7910 to set something up.

Preliminary Enhancement Plan Presentation

Picture above- Laura Hubbard, The Nature Conservancy's Idaho State Director talking with John and Elizabeth Stevenson about riparian plantings done along Patton creek last fall.

On June 24th, over fifty people gathered to hear Ecosystem Sciences Foundation present the preliminary enhancement plan for Silver Creek. After the meeting I hung around and spoke with a variety of people. Reactions ranged from staunch excitement to extreme disappointment. ESF stayed their course of ‘do no harm’ and advocated taking care of the remaining sediment inputs before doing any more extensive stream work. Because they think sediment inputs are coming largely from overland flow during the snow melt and runoff events, stopping those inputs will mean creating more substantial riparian buffers. Much of this work has already been done, riparian buffers being the focus of stream work from the 1970s to late 1990’s, but there are still some areas that need attention. Beyond the riparian buffers, we talked about a variety of subject ranging from groundwater usage, extending conservation partners, mitigating temperatures with increased riparian plantings, trout populations and existing (and lacking) data, restoration philosophies, and the list goes on.

It has been my goal from the beginning to have the planning process as open and transparent as possible. Nothing is written in stone at this point! This plan is still very much a work in progress—I myself submitted four pages of questions, concerns, ideas, and input to ESF last week and am waiting for their response. Feel free to do the same, here or in an email or phone call—the more they hear from us, the more robust the plan will be.

Presentation of the preliminary Silver Creek Enhancement Plan is this THURSDAY!!!!

You are invited to join us for an evening presentation from Ecosystem Sciences Foundation on the preliminary Silver Creek Enhancement Plan. They have been wading through the data, analyzing photos, and studying all things Silver Creek. It is time to hear what they have to say about what Silver Creek was, where it is today, and where it wants to go. We look forward to seeing you!

5:30 p.m. The Nature Conservancy office in Hailey at 116 First Avenue North. Call 788-7910 for more information.

We need photos!!

Call for photos! If you have any historical photos, we would love to see them! This helps us with the mapping so we can make sure what we think we are seeing the aerial photos is what we are actually seeing. Please email or send any photos you may have. Or you can call me, I will come get the photos, scan them and return them to you with a disk for you. 788-7910

Opening day on May 29th-- time for feedback and a barbeque!!!

The public meetings are coming to a close. We had a full house at the visitor center on May 11, I don’t think we have ever crammed so many people into that space! Mark Hill gave an interesting presentation on Ecosystem Sciences work in California on the Owens River. There were many differences and many parallels to the Silver Creek project and we had the opportunity to discuss a few of them. However, the talk always circles back to sediment when you talk about restoring Silver Creek. I heard from many people who disagreed with Marks statement that most of the sediment in Silver Creek is from historic inputs. I also heard from people who agreed. Many people said that it didn’t really matter—what do we do about it NOW?

Next meeting will be an open house at the visitor center on May 29th. Join us for a barbeque lunch from 12-3 pm and an open house where you can look at the preliminary maps and give us feedback.

PRELIMINARY PLAN TO BE PRESENTED ON JUNE 24th IN HAILEY, GET US YOUR FEEDBACK BEFORE THEN!!!!

June 24th, 5:30 p.m. at The Nature Conservancy office located at 116 1st Ave. North Hailey, ID. 83333

Objectives

Photo- IDFG's Terry Greggory, TNC's Dayna Gross, and private landowner, John Stevenson.

One of the things I keep getting asked during the public meetings and in discussions with people is—what is your objective?

This is a hard question to answer right now because we, The Nature Conservancy, have objectives for Silver Creek that focus on preservation and enhancement of specific habitat types. However, part of the process in developing a watershed plan, is to incorporate other objectives into our own--- with the goal of engaging multiple stakeholders to help guide the long-term conservation vision of the watershed.

Currently, our goals and objectives are as follows:
Our Goal: To work with landowners and partners to protect and restore the most important habitats in the Silver Creek watershed to ensure that the creek remains a special place for fish, wildlife and people.

Silver Creek Enhancement Plan Objective:
The Silver Creek Enhancement Plan will be the first effort to comprehensively address fish and wildlife habitat in the entire Silver Creek watershed, including tributary streams. The plan will identify where habitat is in the best condition, and where habitat can be restored. It will prioritize projects and focus on those methods and partnerships that can achieve the most effective conservation. The plan will also develop incentives for landowners interested in enhancing habitat on their properties. By undertaking this comprehensive effort, we can ensure the long-term protection and improvement of Silver Creek.

Let us know what you think!