Simplot is part of a collaborative effort to rebuild and improve the habitat for spring and summer shinook salmon and steelhead in the Salmon River in Custer County, 爱达荷州. The “Yankee Fork Rehabilitation 箴ject” is well underway, with evidence of early success.
The Yankee Fork is one of the major tributaries of the Salmon River in the Upper Salmon sub basin, and was historically an ideal spawning spot for salmon and trout before it was mined for gold. Gold mining started in the area in the late 1800s and became a major contributor to 爱达荷州’s economy. 最终, a dredge was built and used to extract gold by dredging a six-mile stretch of the river from 1931 to 1952. Much of the land the river flows through is Simplot-owned property.
“Because of the historical mining along the Yankee Fork, the aquatic system needed help to essentially rebuild itself,艾伦·普鲁特说, vice president for sustainability and regulatory affairs. “That stretch of river is a potential great habitat for the rearing and development of salmon and steelhead.“确实, the Yankee Fork was an area identified by federal agencies as a hot spot for helping restore salmon and steelhead runs, 但需要改善栖息地. The Yankee Fork Inter-Disciplinary Team (IDT), formed in 2011 to take on the challenge. 会员包括鳟鱼无限, 行部落, 垦务局, 美国林务局, 博纳维尔电力管理局, 爱达荷州物种保护办公室, 爱达荷州渔业局 & Game，爱达荷州公园管理局 & 娱乐和J.R. Simplot公司.
在实施任何工作项目之前, IDT进行了生境条件评估, 汇编的可用数据, 并会见了土地所有者, 县官员, 土著部落, and state and federal agencies pertinent to the project. “We have a great interest in helping perform projects that provide significant environmental value,普鲁蒂说。. “We look for opportunities like this where we can partner with different groups to make that happen.”
Despite Mother Nature’s challenges in the form of fires and snow, construction of the first major habitat improvement was completed in fall of 2012. “Pond Series 3 Side Channel” was built to improve the habitat of juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead, 最终目标是提高鱼类产量. Some dredge piles were either removed or reconstructed. A series of small pools and riffles dynamic to the river flow were installed for the juveniles, and large woody structures were incorporated for their cover protection.
鱼上钩了. 早春时节, adult steelhead returning from the ocean came to lay their eggs in Pond Series 3. 这些蛋将在今年夏天孵化, the juveniles will rear in the stream for one to three years, 然后游到海里，重复这个循环.
“Taking care of the land and having respect for resources is important for Simplot because we use a number of resources from the land, 比如开采磷矿, 放牧的牛, 和农业. It’s really important that we care for the land,普鲁蒂说。.
在接下来的几年里, the IDT will implement more Yankee Fork projects designed to improve fish habitat, 和历史, 文化, 审美资源, and to benefit territorial species such as moose and river otters.
“We’re working to protect and enhance these fisheries so that future generations can enjoy them,普鲁蒂说。. “When I look at this project, I see all three of the Simplot pillars coming into play. 这对所有参与者来说都是一个双赢的局面.”
