| By Christine Smith Dubois Frontier Editor |
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In a cooperative effort between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Dubois/Anglers Wildlife Group, a stream habitat improvement project has been completed near the fishing access at the old mill site behind the Dubois Medical Clinic. Original sampling in the early 1990s indicated pools in that area of the river were good, but because of recent drought years that produced little flow, the pools filled in with sediment and weren't fully flushed out.
"The project was to create rock structures that will scour out pools even during low water years," said Dennis Oberlie, Lander region aquatic habitat biologist with the G&F. Two rock structures were put in place in September. The upper structure, a rock vortex weir, concentrates water in the middle of the river so that water flows over the top to flush out the pools. A J-hook weir created down river forces the water around the boulders in the middle of the river to clean out pools from the sides
"The project was to create rock structures that will scour out pools even during low water years," said Dennis Oberlie, Lander region aquatic habitat biologist with the G&F. Two rock structures were put in place in September. The upper structure, a rock vortex weir, concentrates water in the middle of the river so that water flows over the top to flush out the pools. A J-hook weir created down river forces the water around the boulders in the middle of the river to clean out pools from the sides
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Oberlie said the weirs will be evaluated for the next 3-5 years to determine which works best and can be used in future improvement projects further down river. Evaluation will include stability of the weirs to ensure there is no movement of the boulders and to be certain they are not causing erosion or any other unforeseen consequences to the river.
Through private funding sources, the DAWGs obtained rocks from DTE during construction of their fiber optic project and Rice-Kilroy Construction placed the rocks in the river. Because it was privately funded, Oberlie said the project was able to move ahead quickly. "I couldn't have asked for better cooperation from the Army Corps of Engineers for their timely permitting of this project," he said. Enhancing fish habitat without embarking on major changes to the river was the project's primary goal.
Through private funding sources, the DAWGs obtained rocks from DTE during construction of their fiber optic project and Rice-Kilroy Construction placed the rocks in the river. Because it was privately funded, Oberlie said the project was able to move ahead quickly. "I couldn't have asked for better cooperation from the Army Corps of Engineers for their timely permitting of this project," he said. Enhancing fish habitat without embarking on major changes to the river was the project's primary goal.