Army Corps improves Kootenai River habitat with second large wood placement

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its second batch of fish habitat logs into the Kootenai River May 7, as part of its “Wood is Good” large wood nourishment project.

The installment follows-up on USACE’s Engineering With Nature (EWN) large wood nourishment project, that focuses on improving river habitat for fish and wildlife, specifically those below Libby Dam, Montana, where its presence obstructs the river’s natural large wood supply.

“Since the dam’s construction in the early 70s, no wood has come into the river from the reservoir, and we’re seeing the effects of the dam’s presence on its biodiversity,” said Greg Hoffman, the district’s senior fishery biologist at Libby Dam. “We’re working to restore the river’s ecosystem capability, by adding large wood into the river in a less invasive, more cost-effective way.”

The Howard A. Hanson Dam large wood nourishment project inspired the Libby Dam team to develop a similar one in the area. Officially launched in 2003, that project involves collecting wood in the reservoir and transporting it around the dam for river flows to carry it downstream, to create fish and wildlife habitat through natural processes. Total logjams on the Green River study area increased from 81 in 2001 to 174 by 2020.

“The long-term plan for this project is to create a permanent large wood nourishment management program at Libby Dam,” said Seattle District Hydraulic Engineer Zac Corum. “We want this project to be a template for other Army Corps districts, other federal agencies across the nation and the world interested in EWN programs, to use for similar projects on rivers they manage.”

For more information on the EWN Program, click here.