Local ranch and stream are being restored and studied
BY Mike McKenna
For The Weekly Sun
Something special is happening in Hailey and Bellevue’s backyard.
Just to the west of the Wood River Valley, on the other side of the ridgeline that’s home to Della Mountain, is where Rock Creek runs. The small stream is easy to overlook and has long been all but ignored by just about everyone except for hunters, snowmobilers and cattle ranchers.
Being so close to the wonders of the Wood River Valley, however, Rock Creek and the large ranch at its southern end have been appealing to developers.
That’s why the Wood River Land Trust and the Idaho chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) were thrilled in 2014 when the Rinker family generously sold the property to the two nonprofits so that the ranch could be preserved and its creek restored.
“North-south valleys are really important for animal migrations. Rock Creek in particular is one of the last undeveloped valleys in the area,” Dana Gross, of TNC, told the Blaine County Commissioners last week. “A lot of animals that once used the Wood River Valley now use Rock Creek. It’s important open space.”
But Rock Creek is more than just important open space.
The Rock Creek Ranch easement now covers 10,400 acres, which includes water that is a main tributary to the Big Wood River and Magic Reservoir, as well as high-desert grasslands that offer critical habitat to all kinds of animals, from moose and elk to pronghorn and sage grouse. And, as of earlier this summer, Rock Creek is now home to what could become a landmark facility for studying the impacts of cattle grazing on public and private lands in the West.
In June, the University of Idaho (UI) Rangeland Center signed on to use the ranch as an education facility. There are now 150 head of cattle being studied and managed by UI at Rock Creek.
There is a lot excitement – including coverage in The Washington Times – about the work Idaho’s flagship university is doing locally. There really isn’t another study about the interface between cattle grazing and public lands being done anywhere else in the state, or region, for that matter. Like much of the high-desert West, more than 50 percent of the land in Idaho is considered to be impacted by cattle from ranches just like Rock Creek.
“It’s a very exciting project for a lot of reasons,” Scott Boettger, executive director of WRLT, said. “This is a unique opportunity to not only protect over 10,000 acres, but it also allows us an opportunity to study the impacts of cattle grazing on public and private lands, an interface found throughout the Intermountain West.”
In addition to the educational components, Boettger described Rock Creek Ranch as having a “triple benefit. Our work there improves the stream and fishery, which improves irrigation and production, which also enhances the wildlife habitat,” he said.
It’s work that will continue to move forward, thanks to the Blaine County Commissioners giving conceptual approval of nearly $137,000 in grant money last week from the Land, Water and Wildlife (LAB) levy fund. The commissioners approved funding for three projects, including a tributary assessment, weed control, and to do two main channel restoration projects.
As commissioner Jacob Greenberg noted, there is still $305,265 earmarked for the project once plans for the restoration and other work are completed. “This is important,” he said.
While much of the funds to purchase and do the work at Rock Creek Ranch have been – and continue to be – raised by the Land Trust and the other nonprofits, the LAB funding is crucial to keep the work moving forward.
“We are excited to have approval for these projects and look forward to returning to the LAB with refined plans for the other elements of the project,” said Keri York, director of conservation for the WRLT.
The local office of Trout Unlimited has also become involved, including overseeing a recent electrofish study on the creek. A total of 706 fish were recorded from five different sites. Although just a few of the fish were trout, and all were fairly small, there is hope that once Rock Creek’s eroding stream banks and irrigation channels are restored, that it can once again be a productive tributary for salmonids, especially during spawning season.
“It’s a really incredible place and we’re fortunate to be involved. The Land Trust and TNC are the best possible partners you can have for a project like this,” Chad Chorney, of Trout Unlimited, said. “It’s pretty exciting what’s going on out there.”
“This is just the beginning,” York told the commissioners about the work being done at Rock Creek, which has been listed by the state as an “impaired” or 303D stream. “It’s coming back.”
To find out more about what’s happening at Rock Creek Ranch, visit UI’s new webpage uidaho.edu/cnr/rangeland-center/projects/rock-creek, or call the Wood River Land Trust at (208) 788-3947.