Mountain view of Boundary Creek WMA

The Boundary Creek Wetland Restoration project was a collective effort between the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Ducks Unlimited (DU), Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG), Intermountain West Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to restore more than 1,200 acres of wetlands, riparian areas and upland habitats in the Kootenai River Valley. This property is enrolled in the NRCS Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), which is a voluntary program for landowners who want to restore degraded wetlands on their property. In the late 1990s, the Boundary Creek property was sold to IDFG, in cooperation with the BPA, to be managed as a wildlife area.

 

Before view of Boundary Creek where it was a wheat field prior to its restoration.
Boundary Creek was a wheat field prior to its restoration.


Restoration of this area could have been as simple as removing the existing drains. However, since the Kootenai River is now highly managed and its historic flooding regime has been altered, successful restoration required more active involvement. To facilitate management of the area, control structures, a stream diversion, and some small berms were key components of the restoration project. Combined, the infrastructure site conditions created an area with a diversity of wetland types that meet the habitat needs of a variety of waterfowl and wildlife.

 

The completed project's habitat looks amazingly similar to those of the historic Kootenai Valley.
The completed project's habitat looks amazingly similar to those of the historic Kootenai Valley.


Construction was completed in 2001, and the following spring, the wetland basins were filled with water and ready for the migration. Wetland restoration is never really "as easy as 1-2-3." High quality projects require determination, expertise, and teamwork. Ducks Unlimited is dedicated to producing, high quality wetlands habitat to meet the annual life cycle needs of North America's waterfowl. The Boundary Creek project is a "feather in the cap" for the State of Idaho, Ducks Unlimited and its partners, and North America's waterfowl.