Residents, tribe, agencies work toward watershed restoration plan

PRIEST RIVER — A Thursday gathering at West Bonner Library gave insight into the state of the East River watershed and opportunities available for protection, remediation and improvements in the area. 

The meeting was hosted by Priest River Watershed Group — a coalition launched two years ago by conservation organization Trout Unlimited that works to protect and improve the watershed — and attended by representatives of state agencies and members of the public. 

During Thursday’s meeting, officials from Idaho’s Department of Lands and Department of Fish and Game shared updates on the status of the watershed. Eric Berntsen, water, habitat and environment program manager for the Kalispel Tribe, gave insight into his assessment strategies and the Tribe’s goals for protecting and remediating the area, which stretches from Priest River to Priest Lake, and from the Selkirk Crest to the state line. 

Among the updates were the results of a 2022-23 population survey in the area performed by the Department of Fish and Game, the U.S Forest Service, the Kalispel Tribe and Eastern Washington University. The study showed populations of westslope cutthroat trout and federally protected bull trout in the area along with an abundance of non-native brook trout in the watershed — the result of their artificial introduction by officials in the 20th century.

“Brook trout are very adaptable. They do well, they tend to naturalize, and when they do so, they tend to cause problems for native fish,” said Rob Ryan, fisheries biologist for the Department of Fish and Game. 

Ryan also presented historical counts for several locations in the watershed and compared them to the most recent findings. 

“I would say that these trends in composition really represent relatively stable populations,” he said. “We're not seeing brook trout expanding rapidly and taking over on a stream scale, so that's a good thing.”   

Ryan emphasized that while the data provides a holistic representation of populations, not every nuance is able to be captured. 

“The surveys that we did were meant to be a broad picture of what fish are doing on the landscape,” Ryan said. “They tell a story that's a good story; it's an accurate story, but there are details that it might miss.” 

Agencies and organizations have done remediation work in the watershed in the past. Uleda Creek, which flows into the Middle Fork East River, was once blocked by a log jam installed decades ago as an early piece of timber infrastructure. Over time, the jam caused the creek to flow underground, preventing fish from reaching spawning grounds upstream; agents used explosives to blow out the jam in 2004 in an attempt to enable passage for trout.

According to Colton Finch, fisheries biologist at the Department of Lands, “bull trout immediately began moving past that barrier and spawning” the next year. 

In Keokee Creek, which also feeds the Middle Fork, officials launched an initiative to mechanically remove brook trout abundant in the waterway in an attempt to eradicate the species from the sector. In the 2022-23 survey, none of the four locations sampled along Keokee Creek yielded the species — indicating the population had dropped significantly if not disappeared entirely. 

“Brook trout are really hard to get rid of once they're established,” Ryan said. “It (mechanical removal) has been tried in a lot of different places, but it rarely is completely successful.” 

At nearby Goose Creek, the Kalispel Tribe excavated and reconstructed a 2-mile stretch of the channel in 2018 to better represent its original configuration. 

“These things will heal themselves, but it often takes a long time,” Berntsen explained. 

Berntsen also noted that under Idaho’s funding model, state assistance for restoration projects is limited, and the Tribe often has better luck working across the state line. 

“In Washington, we just have a lot more funding available,” Berntsen said. 

The benefits of remediation and improvements in local watersheds for anglers and environmentalists are apparent. How does restoration and protection of waterways like the East River benefit the average resident? 

“There's inherent value in native fish in that they represent something that's unique to a landscape,” Ryan said. “They evolved in this landscape, and they provide some ecological role in it.” 

Additionally, Ryan said maintaining and improving spawning areas ensures robust fishing opportunities exist in the area, including on Lake Pend Oreille. 

“Those bull trout, those cutthroats that are migratory in the East River drainage end up going to the Pend Oreille River and then into Lake Pend Oreille,” he said. 

With a recently published 2024-34 strategic plan in place, the Priest River Watershed Group is in the process of developing its 2025 work plan, which will specify discrete objectives and plans for the upcoming year.