In Northern Idaho, TU and the Forest Service are working together to restore native trout habitat, support local jobs, and improve wildfire resiliency
In North Idaho, TU’s Panhandle Chapter has been active for several decades, but Trout Unlimited didn’t have full time staff in the region until Erin Plue was hired as a project manager late in 2020. Plue led TU’s partnership with the Idaho Panhandle National Forest (IPNF) until she stepped up to lead all of TU’s work in Idaho as the program’s state director. Today, TU’s work in the IPNF is led by Cathy Gidley, TU’s North Idaho Program Manager, who was hired in 2023.
The Idaho Panhandle National Forest is beloved by anglers for its Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout populations and clean, cold water. Many communities in North Idaho depend on the water flowing off the Forest for their municipal water supply and to support recreation dependent economies. The Forest also provides excellent hunting, camping, hiking and biking opportunities and is an important source of regional timber harvest, producing more than 28 million board feet during federal fiscal year 2025.
Over the last five years, TU and the IPNF have partnered on a series of ambitious restoration projects and set the stage for important work during 2026.
Their successful collaboration builds on TU’s national agreement with the U.S. Forest Service and helps the IPNF deliver on a backlog of prioritized projects that support healthy rivers and fish populations, durable water supplies, fire resilient forests, and important recreational opportunities.
To accomplish this work, TU and IPNF staff partner on project management, funding, permitting, environmental compliance, and project design.
Much of the on-the-ground construction work is carried out by skilled local and regional contractors.
Completed Projects: 2021 – 2025
Red Ives Creek Dam Removal and Large Wood Placement
In 2021, TU and the IPNF removed a small dam in the Upper St. Joe River watershed that had once powered a historic ranger station, but blocked fish migration during most flows. Upstream of the former dam, approximately 1400 logs were placed in about a mile of Red Ives Creek during work in 2023 and 2025 to improve habitat conditions.
The multi-year effort gave endangered Bull Trout consistent access to key habitat, and improved that habitat by creating pools, providing overhead cover, and sorting and depositing gravel to increase spawning of the native fish.
Dresser Creek Culvert (AOP) Replacement
Dresser Creek flows into Tepee Creek, one of the two tributaries that combine to form the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River. For years, an old culvert just above the confluence was blocking fish passage into the tributary, preventing Westslope Cutthroat from utilizing 1.5 miles of spawning and rearing habitat above the barrier.
In 2023, the undersized, perched culvert was replaced by a larger culvert with natural substrate. Along with restoring upstream and downstream migration for fish and other aquatic species, the new culvert supports an improved road crossing and will greatly reduce the risk of road failure during high water and flooding events for years to come.
This was the first project accomplished in Idaho funded by the TU/USFS national agreement. It is a great example of how fish and river restoration efforts also support improvements to regional infrastructure and flood resilience goals.
Charlie Creek Culvert Replacement (AOP) and Road Decommissioning
Charlie Creek flows into the St. Maries River and ultimately into the St. Joe River, a beloved Westslope Cutthroat fishery. The upper St. Maries River, including Charlie Creek, still has good fish habitat and water quality, but an undersized culvert was blocking fish migration during high flows.
In 2024, TU and the USFS replaced the old culvert with an open-bottom arch culvert filled with natural substrate, reconnecting 3.5 miles of trout spawning and rearing habitat. As a part of the project, crews also decommissioned 2.6 miles of old logging roads, which included removing 17 culverts, to reduce downstream sediment loads.
Plans to replace the culvert were first developed in 2014. The increase in project capacity supported by the TU/USFS partnership made it possible for the IPNF to finally complete this important project.
Conjecture Dam Removal and Mining Cleanup
In 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Forest Service removed Conjecture Dam, and the contaminated sediment accumulated behind it, on Gold Creek, a tributary to Lake Pend Oreille. As a part of the project, TU restored 300 feet of the stream channel with funding provided by the TU/USFS National Agreement. Removing the dam reconnected two miles of Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat habitat.
Mining operations on Gold Creek began sometime after 1894 and continued periodically until 1963. The EPA completed the Conjecture Mine clean up in 2007, just downstream of the former dam’s location. Contaminated tailings from the upstream Weber Mine extended all the way to the edge of Gold Creek, contributing high levels of arsenic and lead to the creek.
EPA removed 50,000 tons of material from the Weber Mine in addition to 4,669 tons from behind the dam, containing the materials in an on-site repository.
Ongoing eDNA Studies
To help identify where native and non-native fish and aquatic invasive species are found, TU seasonal crews began taking eDNA samples at key sites identified by the Forest Service in 2024 and continued to do so in 2025. The samples are processed in the USFS National Genomics lab and are tested for species including bull trout, northern pike, brook trout, and quagga and zebra mussels to better understand regional distribution.
In 2024 and 2025, the eDNA sampling occurred in the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene basins. In the future TU is planning to expand the monitoring effort to include the Priest, Pend Oreille, and Kootenai basins and begin collaborating with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.
Upcoming Projects: 2026
Hudlow Meadows Floodplain Restoration and Large Wood Placement
Hudlow Meadows is located downstream of the confluence of Hudlow Creek and the Little North Fork Coeur d’Alene River. The area has been heavily impacted by extensive camping and off-road vehicle use, which has resulted in too many roads and trails near, and through, the creek and disconnected riparian habitat.
In 2026, TU will rehabilitate the roads and trails, reconnect 14 acres of historic floodplain, add large wood to improve stream habitat, and use hand-built beaver dam analogue structures (BDAs) to restore off-channel wetted habitat, create pools, and encourage riparian vegetation growth.
Native Westslope Cutthroat, and the anglers who arrive each year to fish, will benefit from the increased habitat and improved supplies of cold water. The Little North Fork has been identified as an important resource for clean, cold water in long-term forecasting models.
Reconnected floodplains are also a critical tool for supporting wildfire resiliency. During a fire they provide critical refugia for wildlife and connected floodplains and wetlands help slow the spread of catastrophic fire by acting as natural fire breaks. After a fire, the BDAs and off-channel habitat help hold water on the landscape and help keep ash and sediment from impacting downstream water quality.
Copper Ridge Project
This summer, work will continue at The Copper Ridge Project in the Red Ives Historic Ranger Station within the Upper St. Joe River watershed.
Along with decommissioning an unneeded road, TU and our contractors will remove old infrastructure at the site, including a dam, four buildings, and underground water tanks, to reduce sediment and improve water quality.
Upper Big Creek Fish Passage Restoration
On Upper Big Creek, a broad partnership is coming together to give Westslope Cutthroat access to high-quality spawning and rearing habitat that has been blocked since the mid 1980s in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River basin. Because the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River flows through the Bunker Hill Superfund Site and is deeply impacted by pollution, the river’s tributaries provide critical spawning habitat and clean water sources for recovering trout populations.
In 2026, TU, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Forest Service, in cooperation with Sunshine Mine, will remove an outdated dam that had been owned and operated by the Central Shoshone Water District. The adjacent land is owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
In 2025, a downstream dam owned by Sunshine Mine had been previously removed. Between the two projects, fish will once again be able to use 27 square miles of National Forest habitat upstream, including 11 miles of Upper Big Creek.
A busy summer work season
With a number of great projects planned, 2026 is going to be a busy summer for TU and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Stay tuned for updates as the work on the ground gets underway.
When the dust settles at the end of the season, North Idaho fish and communities will benefit from reconnected habitat, cleaner water, and healthier, fire resilient meadows and forests.
You can track projects in North Idaho at the Panhandle Chapter’s website: northidahotu.org