FWP moving forward with Dunn Creek project

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region One has completed an environmental assessment for the Dunn Creek Bank Stabilization Project for the purpose of reducing bank erosion and limiting instream sediment from the single largest eroding bank within the Dunn Creek watershed and increasing habitat diversity for resident trout in Dunn Creek. The project is located on Dunn Creek, approximately 15 miles northeast of Libby.

According to a press release, the draft was out for a 30-day public review through July 9, with no comments received. Due to the urgent need to reduce sediment in Dunn Creek, the proposed project will be implemented as soon as possible. No changes were made to the draft; therefore, the draft will become the final document.

The project is part of the long-term, large-scale effort to slow the erosion in Dunn Creek.

“It’s an opportunity to conserve and restore fisheries in our local area,” said fisheries biologist Jim Dunnigan. “In the long run, it will provide spawning fish to the Kootenai.”

During the last few decades, land erosion has become a big issue for the creek and, in turn, the Kootenai River. According to Dunnigan, Dunn Creek was historically an important fish-spawning territory for the river. Some years, the creek goes dry due to rocks and sediment piling up in the lower section of the creek. The erosion has been exacerbated by a lot of factors, including the road that goes along the creek and constricts the channel, Dunnigan said.

The comprehensive sediment erosion assessment was a collaborative effort with the Montana FWP, the Montana Forest Agency, and Plum Creek Timber, now owned by Weyerhaeuser.

In a competitive bid, FWP awarded the project to a local contracting company, Noble Excavating will be doing the project.

Copies of the decision notice are available at the FWP office, 490 North Meridian Road, Kalispell; Montana State Library, 1515 E. 6 Ave., Helena; FWP State Headquarters, 1420 East 6 Ave. Helena; the FWP website and for viewing at local libraries.

For more information, contact fisheries biologist Jim Dunnigan at 293-5590, extension 224, or email jdunnigan@mt.gov.

Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.