DEQ Task Force in town to see river restoration

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's Nonpoint Source Task Force as well as other agencies were in Saratoga last week to learn about river restoration with a lecture and tour given on the Encampment River.

On May 13 the River Restoration 101 lecture took place during the DEQ Task Force meeting, then Thursday the Task Force and other agencies traveled to Encampment to tour river restoration projects completed on the Encampment River.

According to the DEQ website, "the Wyoming Nonpoint Source Task Force is a board of 13 citizens appointed by the Governor that provides oversight for the Nonpoint Source Program. Members represent different interest groups/industries around the state."

The DEQ website also mentions that, "The primary functions of the Task Force include recommending local water quality improvement projects for grant funding and providing input on program management."

Agencies represented during the two-day event includes the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Nature Conservancy, Wyoming Game & Fish, Environmental Protection Agency, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), Trout Unlimited and the Saratoga Encampment Rawlins Conservation District (SERCD).

Jeff Streeter, Program Manager of Trout Unlimited, and Christina Barrineau, of Wyoming Game & Fish, led a presentation on May 10 about the fundamentals of river restoration; which included basic terminology, common procedure and cost estimates.

Barrineau was pleased with the presentation. "Stream hydrology and restoration techniques are broad subjects that are difficult to filter down to a one-and-one-half hour lecture, but I hope it will help the board members understand future stream restoration proposals they may see and the costs involved in these projects," Barrineau said. "The board members asked many challenging questions and provided useful suggestions for our future river projects."

At 8 a.m. the next day, the Task Force was led down to two different sites along the Encampment River where two separate river restoration projects had been completed. According to Streeter, "The greatest source of water pollution in the state of Wyoming is sediment. Wyoming Game & Fish as well as Trout Unlimited have worked on addressing these sediment issues on the Encampment River."

The first site taken to was considered a major success, according Barrineau. Originally in this 1,200 linear foot stretch of the river along the Sprit West Lodge, the landowners in that region were "loosing a lot of bank" according to participating stakeholder Joe Parsons, Supervisory Resource Specialist of SERCD.

"This is an irrigation project, it just happened to have a lot of benefits to public safety and fish passage and everything else," said Parsons.

The project started rooting in 2007-2008; however, construction did not begin until 2013.

The other project the Task Force was brought to was the first river restoration project that Streeter and Barrineau had worked on for the Encampment River. This 3,400 linear foot project may not have turned out perfect, but they learned a lot along the way. According to Barrineau, there were issues related to construction, timing and funding that hindered the process.

"This is the project where me and Jeff (Streeter) say that we wish we had done things differently. Its not perfectly transporting sediment the way we would like it to... there were some issues with our design," Barrineau said. "Our design changed in the second year and we had to move a lot more sediment that we had to before."

This section of the restoration relied on major movement of the river, according to Barrineau. "We really adjusted dimension, pattern, and profile of this section of the river."

Providing the river restoration tour and divulging the process (success or failure) resulted in the type of information that officials throughout the state-and even out-of-state-are interested, and excited about.

Jennifer Zygmunt, Natural Resources Program Principal for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, was glad she was given a chance to see what has been done on the Encampment River. According to Zygmunt, "This project is a great example of local stakeholders coming together to voluntarily address degradation of an important waterbody."

In addition, she wants the public to be aware that grant funding is available for stakeholders throughout Wyoming for restoration projects such as this. "Through a Section 319 grant awarded to Wyoming under the Clean Water Act, the WDEQ is able to provide financial and technical assistance to projects such as this one that proactively work to protect and improve water quality," said Zygmunt.

Zygmunt was thankful for the opportunity to view the river restoration efforts in this region. "The WDEQ appreciates the efforts of Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and most importantly the landowners who are working to make this project a success."

If interested in learning more about the river restoration efforts that have transgressed along the Encampment River, both Streeter and Barrineau would be happy to talk to the public about it; as well as providing an additional River Restoration 101 course.

"I really enjoyed presenting the hydrology/stream restoration 101 lecture and showing our recent Encampment River projects to the WYDEQ Nonpoint Source Pollution Task Force.  I'd be glad to provide the same lecture to other interested groups," Barrineau said.