RIPARIAN, AQUATIC LIFE AND WATERSHEDS

Both Paris and Sleight Creeks run through the preserve. There are also springs and seeps. The creeks provide potential habitat for native Bonneville Cutthroat. Sleight Creek is a small stream with marginal potential for trout, while Paris Creek is altered by a water diversion on the Caribou National Forest that dewaters three miles of the creek, part of which passes through the Preserve. We are working toward establishing minimum flows in Paris Creek, and have asserted our water rights so the water to serve those will flow through the Preserve. In addition, working with the Forest Service and Idaho Fish and Game fisheries biologists, we have surveyed Paris Creek and determined the amount of flow needed to re-establish Bonneville cutthroat trout. The next step is to ensure that sufficient water from the Power and Irrigation companies be released at the diversion into the creek rather than bypassing it through a canal to the local power plant.