Use of Vegetation and Natural Materials
Dunn Creek Confluence Habitat Restoration Kootenai River, Libby, Montana, United States
Following the construction of Libby Dam in 1972, the Kootenai River downstream of the dam continues to be impacted by altered hydrology, changes in nutrient, wood, and sediment loading, and changes in water quality. These changes have altered riparian processes and affected aquatic and terrestrial habitat, resulting in a degraded ecosystem relative to historical conditions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Seattle District (NWS) developed a comprehensive design, which was implemented in 2015, to improve salmonid habitat in the Kootenai River downstream of Libby Dam by partially mitigating for the loss of wood recruitment (i.e., accumulations of large wood, or log jams) to the river below the dam. The project area is located in the reach of the Kootenai River between Libby Dam and the Fisher River, approximately three miles downstream of the dam. The purpose of this project is to rehabilitate—and to the extent possible, restore—natural processes related to large woody debris in the reach.
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