USFS announces temporary closure

PRIEST LAKE — The U.S. Forest Service is temporarily shutting the gate on Road No. 662 in order to implement the Hughes Meadows restoration project.

The contractor will be operating and storing heavy equipment and vehicles at the site as they complete work to reroute the Hughes Fork. The Hughes Fork is a tributary to the Upper Priest River. The closure began Aug. 6, 2018 and will continue through early September 2018 or earlier if construction is completed ahead of schedule.

The Hughes Meadow restoration project is a restoration effort to improve the meadow ecology by rerouting Hughes Fork back into its original meandering channel through the meadow and allow for a more natural hydrological regime. During World War II, the stream was diverted into a man-made ditch to allow for an airstrip in Hughes Meadow. This ditch lacks the habitat structure and diversity necessary to support the spawning and rearing requirements of bull trout. Additionally, water temperatures in the meadow exceed the thermal tolerance of bull trout during warm and dry summer months creating a thermal barrier to bull trout migration.

For information on the Hughes Meadow Restoration Project, contact the Priest Lake Ranger District at 208-443-2512