By RICH McINTYRE
In a February 2006 presentation to the Blaine County Commission, the advisory board of the Idaho Rivers United/Wood River Legacy Project unveiled its plan to restore stream flows to the lower Big Wood River below Bellevue. Since that time, significant progress has been made, along with a major surprise.
The community has started to rally behind the project. The advisory board has expanded to include Larry Schoen, Mary Ann Peters and Scott Schnebly, who join Jed Gray, Rob Santa, Butch Harper, Andy Munter, Buck Drew, George Rizzo and Bill Molyneux, all of Blaine County, and Rich Dinges, from Gooding.
The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute is developing studies to help fill in some of the blanks on lower valley hydrology while concurrently developing more hydrological studies to show the benefits of the pilot project. This will be critical in demonstrating that what works in the Big Wood River basin can work elsewhere in the state.
The big surprise? As much as 40 cubic feet per second of water could be available from water-right holders in the early stages of the project, quite a down payment on a living river. That, of course, is at the heart of the effort: a voluntary pilot project to allow for water to be placed back in the valley streams, and to be protected to the next senior user. The "use or lose it" element of Idaho water law is a zero sum game, and valley residents know it. Increasing the usable length of the Big Wood River by some 12 miles, enhancing flows in Silver Creek and changing Idaho water law to protect water rights placed in-stream means big changes in the near term and a living legacy left to future generations.
There have been some concerns expressed by farmers in the Bellevue Triangle about how the project could affect their operations. Their understandable concerns need to be fully addressed (I'll be seeing you when planting is done, folks). To be clear: The Legacy Project does not propose to take any water from the triangle—the water used for Big Wood flow restoration comes from water that stays on that side of the valley. Silver Creek will remain whole. Until such time as new science demonstrates such a shift is appropriate or feasible—and would keep the triangle whole—the Legacy Project would oppose any water transfer. We stand with valley agriculture and share their concerns over maintaining water delivery in an area where residential development places their operations at risk.
It is time to bring all interested parties together. Down-basin interests, from irrigation districts to governments, see the advantages of a project that will send more water downstream via Magic Reservoir, the Big Wood River and the Silver Creek/Little Wood Roiver system. The support of those counties and their Republican legislators will be central to passing the pilot project, and much of the summer and autumn will be spent developing a basin-wide, bipartisan political coalition.
Sometimes, things have been that way for so long we forget what once was, and what may be again.
Contact richmcintyre@msn.com for more information.
Rich McIntyre is the project director of the Wood River Legacy Project.
