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East Fork Ditch Company
Assists Bull Trout Recovery
The East Fork Ditch Company supplies irrigation water to 54 users in the
Council, Idaho area. When bull trout was listed as a threatened and endangered
species the District knew they had to do something to keep them out of their
irrigation ditch. Also their diversion structure was not friendly to upstream
movement of fish. The ditch diversion site in on Forest Service administered
lands, so they became part of the solution. An in field review started a process
that eventually lead to the installation of a new technology for fish screens in
Idaho. With assistance from many partners, funds were administered by the West
Central Highlands RC&D to construct a step pool complex that allows fish to
migrate upstream over the diversion. The final touch was to install a horizontal
flat plate screen in the ditch. This screen, through regulated velocities and
turbulence, is self cleaning but required some stream flow to return water to
the creek with the fish. Total project costs were $88,225, much of it from
grants through the Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and Game, the Ditch
Company and technical assistance was provided by the Forest Service, the Bureau
of Reclamation, and Farmers Irrigation Company from Hood River Oregon, who
introduced the new technology of horizontal flat plate screens.
Water users and agency staff
inspect new fish screen on East Fork Weiser River
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