In 2022, Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Forest Service embarked on a five-year $40 million national Keystone initiative to increase the scale of watershed restoration on our national forests and grasslands—home to many of America’s most important native trout and salmon species and the source of drinking water for some 180 million people and 68,000 communities.
This work builds on long-standing restoration partnerships between the Forest Service and TU and expanded thanks to federal investments provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
The Bassett Gulch Project is one of the partnership’s funded projects in Idaho.
Unique populations of native fish
The project is located in Central Idaho along Warm Springs Creek just outside of the resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley. The creek is a part of the Wood River watershed, which is a TU Priority Water and a popular trout fishing destination; the world-renowned Silver Creek is also part of the Wood River system.
Warm Springs Creek is the largest tributary to the Big Wood River and supports fluvial Redband trout as well as Wood River sculpin. The Redband trout that use Warm Springs Creek for spawning and rearing migrate down to the Big Wood River to grow larger and occasionally pose for photos with happy anglers.
These are both special populations of native fish. Idaho Fish and Game have recently shown that Redband trout in the Big Wood and its tributaries have been genetically “isolated for a long period of time, and represent a unique, old and previously undescribed lineage of Oncorhynchus mykiss.” Wood River sculpin are endemic to the Wood River Basin. They are listed as a sensitive species by the Forest Service and are listed as a species of long-term concern by the state of Idaho.
A mining legacy
The Bassett Gulch Project is located at the confluence of Warm Springs Creek with West Fork Warm Springs Creek and the junction of Forest Road 227 and Forest Road 049.
From 1950 to 2000, the mouth of the gulch operated as a mining mill site. Silver, gold, barite and lead ore mined elsewhere was brought to Bassett Gulch for processing.
Bassett Gulch itself is a very small drainage with no defined channel or other evidence of surface water flow. Fortunately, this limited impacts of contaminants to Warm Springs Creek, although sampling detected compounds like mercury, lead, arsenic, barium and cyanide above background levels within the milling operation footprint.
The road infrastructure at the site acted as a levy disconnecting 30-acres of floodplain and increased flow velocities in the section of the creek adjacent to Forest Road 227. High flow and the associated erosion required annual maintenance to protect the road. It also added fine sediment to Warm Springs Creek, which increased turbidity and contributed to a loss of fish habitat quality and diversity.
To ensure the detected contaminants did not spread over time, the Forest Service completed a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) removal action in November 2004. As a result, the mill buildings, ore processing equipment and 30,000 cubic yards of tailings in the impoundment area and 7,600 cubic yards of tailings in the riparian area were removed in the following years. Once the CERCLA removal action was completed the bridge over Warm Springs Creek was also removed.
Stream restoration in the Sawtooth National Forest
The goals of the Bassett Gulch Project were to enhance instream, wetland and floodplain habitat while reducing ongoing maintenance costs required to protect the road. It is the first project on the Sawtooth National Forest (SNF) funded by the Forest Service and Trout Unlimited’s Keystone agreement.
TU Idaho’s unique experience, relationships and efficient contracting process allowed for a highly expedited timeline. The project moved from initiation to construction completion in just one year.
The SNF staff, as well as dedicated design and construction contractors, were integral in meeting this timeline. The SNF completed the required NEPA process and finalized a Watershed Restoration Action Plan in the first half of 2024. Forest Service and TU staff conducted a site visit while the design contractors conducted surveys in the snow in January of 2024. Construction contractors worked diligently through early season snowstorms to complete the project ahead of schedule.
“This project has been a priority for the Ketchum Ranger District for 20 years, and we couldn’t have gotten this done without the partnership with Trout Unlimited, and the project came out better than expected because of this partnership,” explained Ryan Santo, USFS fisheries biologist.
Roads, Redbands and Sculpins
Although one of the main goals of the project was to protect road infrastructure throughout the SNF, the project was also designed for multiple habitat improvements benefiting native Redband trout and Wood River Sculpin.
Up to 30 acres of previously disconnected floodplain will now be re-activated during high spring flows. New instream rock and wood structures will provide year-round fish habitat diversity while the side channel and floodplain connection will provide refugia during high flow events.
Next spring and early summer will be an exciting time at Basset Gulch. As a part of the restoration work, we planted over 900 potted plants and spread 50 pounds of seed. It will be great to see this vegetation come to life.
The Forest Service has photo locations set up so we can share how the project looks during high flows and as the vegetation recovers. Keep an eye out for more updates in the future on TU’s social media channels.
Feature photo: Wood River winter fishing. photo by Ed Northen from the Hemmingway Chapter of Trout Unlimited.