Work set to continue at Gray's Meadow
Photo courtesy of COEUR d'ALENE BASIN FACEBOOK PAGE
MEDIMONT — Work will continue on the Gray’s Meadow agriculture-to-wetland conversion project this year.
The project has been making steady progress over the past two years, including the recent completion of several basic infrastructure upgrades, including 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.
Now the focus is going to be on remediating the soil in the area and restoring former farming and agricultural lands into viable, healthy wetlands that will act as a feeding habitat for several different species of waterfowl.
A recent release from the EPA announced its plans for the coming construction season — which will likely begin as soon as the weather permits.
“Summer 2023 will see major earth moving to consolidate contaminated soils in places like dikes and access roads, as well as in waterfowl loafing islands,” the release read. “We will cap contaminated soils with clean soils, and install water control structures as dike construction progresses.”
“The Gray’s Meadow Project is very important to the EPA,” EPA project manager Kim Prestbo previously told the News-Press. “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.”
To ensure public safety during active construction, all or portions of Gray’s Meadow may sometimes be temporarily closed to the public.
People will be able to observe restoration work from the safety of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes as you pass through the area. The trail will remain open during the project, with detours set up during activities that impact the trail and trail users.