Wetland restoration to continue this fall
The current bridge that runs along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes between the Lamb Peak Fields and Cave Lake Field. The bridge will be updated in the coming months.
Courtesy photo
MEDIMONT — The Environmental Protection Agency is closing in on the completion of part of an important ongoing project in the Chain Lakes region of the Lower Coeur d’Alene Basin.
The ongoing project to convert Gray’s Meadow from an agricultural field into a thriving wetland has been going on for some time, but in the fall they will begin a few simple yet important steps in the project.
These steps are basic infrastructure upgrades, which include moving the Lamb Peak Field discharge pump from its current location at Black Lake to the Coeur d’Alene River, as well as upgrading and improving an access road and bridge that runs along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes between the Lamb Peak Fields and Cave Lake Field.
The project plans should be reviewed and approved in September, with construction to happen from October through December of this year.
Kim Prestbo is the EPA Project Manager for the Gray’s Meadow Project and she broke the project down in an interview with the News-Press and explained why this project is so vital to the EPA.
The project is part of a 2-pronged approach that focuses on rehabilitation of these wetlands and old ag fields, as well as making sure that the water supply to them is clean and not contaminated by heavy metals that render the wetlands as poisonous for the animals that live there.
“The Gray’s Meadow Project is very important to the EPA,” Prestbo said. “For the EPA it represents our strategy in protecting waterfowl and wildlife in the Lower Basin. We have many wetlands that have been contaminated over time. By cleaning up some of these wetlands and selecting former agricultural fields and converting them into wetlands, it allows us to create clean feeding habitats and functioning wetlands for waterfowl. And we can do this at the same time as we’re working on source control in the river channels.”
The Lamb Peak pumps will be moved closer to the Coeur d’Alene River and mouth of the tie channel with Black Lake and the pump discharge will be moved to a small channel next to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes where it will eventually discharge into the Coeur d’Alene River.
A new gravity drain water control structure will also be installed for use during low water conditions on the river.
These upgrades should improve water quality within Black Lake and the surrounding wetlands.