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Bear Lake East-side Phase 3 plan targets sagebrush, mule deer and cutthroat habitat
Summary
Phase 3 of East Bear Lake restoration would remove encroaching juniper, restore riparian function with beaver-analog structures, replace an impassable culvert and drill an agricultural well to rewater North Eden Creek and reopen about 10 miles of spawning habitat for Bear Lake cutthroat trout.
The Division of Wildlife Resources and partners presented Phase 3 of an East Bear Lake watershed restoration project focused on upland juniper removal, riparian and process-based stream restoration, and reconnection of tributary spawning habitat for Bear Lake cutthroat trout.
"Our objectives specifically are to maintain the sage grouse, mule deer, and elk winter and breeding habitats, as well as reducing hazardous fuels," Shane Hill, Northern Region habitat restoration biologist, said, describing plans to lop-and-scatter approximately 1,500 acres of young juniper and to masticate 50 acres of denser stands to expand and defend sagebrush core areas.
Nut graf: The proposal combines terrestrial treatments (juniper removal, seeding, livestock-trough relocations to reduce riparian grazing pressure) with aquatic work on North Eden Creek: replace an impassable 6-foot culvert beneath North Cisco Road with a bottomless arch culvert, remove/replace an irrigation diversion with a new agricultural well to restore base flow to about 1.5 miles of stream, and install low-tech, process-based restoration upstream to rewater and reconnect roughly 10 miles of historic spawning and rearing habitat for cutthroat.
Jim Dorito, Bear River chairman for Trout Unlimited, outlined the aquatic rationale: he said past work on West-side Bear Lake tributaries (Swan Creek, Fish Haven, St. Charles) that replaced culverts and reconnected streams is correlated with a substantial increase in wild (naturally recruiting) cutthroat in Bear Lake.
The combined WRI (Watershed Restoration Initiative/K) request totals about $847,000, with roughly $1.3 million in match and $2.2 million in-kind contributions from multiple partners. The slate of work is planned across three fiscal years: culvert replacement this summer, an ag well and 2 miles of process-based restoration in later fiscal years, and continued fish and habitat monitoring.
Ending: Presenters said the project is the product of several years of planning and interagency grants; council members pressed on grazing impacts and landowner cooperation, and presenters said the terrestrial and riparian actions are phased to engage trust lands and private owners while initial hydrologic fixes are completed.
