Bonner Soil & Water Conservation District

Pack River Watershed Council

The mission of the Pack River Watershed Council is to improve water quality and riparian habitat in the Pack River watershed for people, fish, and wildlife through education, collaboration, and cooperative projects.

PRWC Update

The Pack River Watershed Council, in partnership with Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Avista, are leading the development of a Native Salmonid Habitat Plan for the Pack River watershed.

The Pack River watershed provides critical habitat for native salmonids, especially Bull Trout, which have been listed as a threatened species since 1998. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the primary threats to recovery are due to degraded habitat conditions.

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The overall goal and focus of the Native Salmonid Plan is to improve native salmonid habitat in the Pack River watershed, especially for migratory Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout.

This plan will summarize and prioritize all recommended watershed restoration, conservation and enhancement projects from previously conducted assessments, especially those which would most benefit Bull Trout. It would also list completed restoration projects and provide a brief history of watershed management in each sub-watershed.

This plan will provide a user-friendly living document for project partners that can be reviewed and revised periodically to reflect current local priorities and provide updates on project implementation progress.

A technical advisory committee has been formed to oversee the development of this plan and has been meeting monthly. Project partners include U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Kalispel Tribe, Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District, Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Kaniksu Land Trust, and other local stakeholders.

Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus ). Photo from www.ecofishresearch.com

For more information on the Pack River Watershed Council contact:

Jessica Erickson, Watershed Coordinator

c/o Bonner Soil & Water Conservation District

(208) 263-5310

Funding for this program is provided thanks to Avista Watershed Council Funding and Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District.