WYLDLIFE FOR TOMORROW

New Fork River Restoration

Why?

Flat Creek is an important Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout spawning tributary that has been adversely affected by urbanization, rural land development, and water management.
The section of Flat Creek south of the town of Jackson is poor Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout habitat: it is overly straight, wide, and open, and contains movement barriers that limit access to good spawning habitat.
There is ample hydrology and watershed function from upstream sources to improve instream habitat and water quality throughout a degraded, channelized section of creek.
Improved stream function will reduce stream bank erosion, restore reference channel dimension and riparian vegetation, reduce localized winter icing problems, diversify instream habitat, and address stream warming.
These changes will result in improvements to Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout habitat.

Partners

Community Foundation Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole One Fly
Lockhart Cattle Co.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
Teton Conservation District – Trout Unlimited
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Water for Wildlife Foundation
Western Native Trout Initiative
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Wyoming Game & Fish Department
Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition
Wyoming Water Development Office
Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust Fund

How?

A total of 1.2 miles of Flat Creek will be restored to reference conditions, with Phase II (current phase) focusing on 0.6 miles of the waterway.
The riparian area will be restored using a combination of grazing exclosure fencing and extensive planting of willow and cottonwoods.
The new channel will be narrower and deeper, and have connection to its floodplain through the installation of meander bends, toewood, and vegetated soil lifts.
Seasonal barriers to upstream fish movement will be retrofitted to allow for year-round passage.