Dan Lee Creek Restoration

Through the USFWS partners program, RDG assisted NRCS and USFWS with restoration design and construction oversight for restoration of a wet meadow complex in the headwaters of the Lolo Creek watershed in Idaho. A conservation easement was established on the project site in 2013 under the NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). To fulfill WRP goals, restoration was sought to address the degraded stream conditions and the lowered water table caused by past land use practices that include grazing and channelization. The purpose of the restoration project is to raise the elevation of the water table in order to increase wetland area and improve wetland and stream function on the Chapman WRP. Project objectives included: improve floodplain connection and allow the creek to inundate a greater area; promote regeneration of herbaceous wetland plant species; increase woody riparian vegetation cover and species diversity; and improve riparian habitat conditions for native fish and wildlife species.

RDG completed field assessments and prepared designs for beaver dam analogs (BDAs), stream channel reconstruction and wetland restoration. Project implementation was completed in 2019 with oversight provided by RDG and USFWS.