FTR News

Thursday, June 7, 2007 - (06/07/2007) - In the past nine months, Friends of the Teton River (FTR) has raised $290,000 towards a one mile long stream channel restoration project on Teton Creek. Grant dollars totaling $175k includes funding from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the National Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the One Fly Foundation (Jackson Hole). Private land owners Floyd Hill and Fran McKibben have provided matching funds of $100,000 towards the improvements. The initial damage to Teton Creek was caused by a series of dredgings and alterations to the stream channel. Since the destabilization, a “domino effect” has ensued, with bank loss and erosion occurring in up and downstream directions. Landowners are losing over a foot of bank to the creek each year and face the future potential for flooding, property and habitat loss. In response, FTR assembled a group of local stakeholders and agencies to collaborate on steps towards restoration. In April 2007 restoration designs by Confluence Consulting (Bozeman, MT), were approved by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Idaho Department of Water Resources. “We’re focusing on funding the most critical sections first,” FTR Restoration Director Mike Lien explained, “so we can prevent more damaging bank failures from spreading up and downstream.” So far, a total of four miles of streambank has been affected. While restoration estimates for the most critical mile-long section are expected to approach 1.2 million dollars, Lien pointed out that “the funding momentum for an enormous restoration project has begun and people are realizing that healthy riparian areas are an asset for our economy and our community.” As a case in point, Land Equity Partners, the Park City, Utah developer who owns the former Bowles property on the south side of the creek, has pledged $15,000 towards the creation of a Teton Creek Corridor Comprehensive Plan. Project Manager Spencer Thunell emphasized that the creek corridor is what makes the property valuable and that “our donation reflects a commitment to conserving environmentally sensitive areas important to the community.” The Comprehensive Plan, which will be produced by the Utah State University graduate students by April 2008, will study the important natural resources in the riparian corridor and create guidelines for proper use and development. The first phase of streambank restoration work on Teton Creek will commence this July.