Where the city of Hailey once dumped its trash, a wetlands restoration project spearheaded by the Wood River Land Trust may soon breathe new life into a damaged and overlooked landscape.
The wetlands being considered for restoration are south of the softball field at Lions Park and west of Hailey and the Big Wood River. The site was used as the city of Hailey's landfill until sometime in the mid-1960s.
Croy Creek flows into the Big Wood River just south of the proposed restoration site.
At a Hailey City Council meeting Monday, the Wood River Land Trust's project coordinator, Kathryn Goldman, presented an overview of the proposed project.
The most significant part of the restoration would be the removal of earthen fill, rusted out car bodies, concrete slabs and anything else the digging turns up on portions of the 1-acre project site, Goldman said.
"I don't know what else is in there," she said.
Invasive weeds that have taken over the former landfill would also be removed, Goldman said.
Once that is complete, native vegetation would be planted and a temporary irrigation system installed to help the new plantings take hold.
Eventually, the land trust hopes a public boardwalk for viewing of the restored wetlands could be built, Goldman said.
Existing cottonwood trees at the site would be retained to greatest extent possible, she said.
Preliminary estimates place the cost of the project at about $115,000, Goldman said. The cost will become clearer once bids come in on the cost of the boardwalk and irrigation system, she added.
As part of her presentation to the Hailey City Council on Monday, Goldman made a formal request to have city support the project by having city crews help with some portions of it. Specifically, Goldman and the land trust hope the city will agree to commit 333 hours of employee time for the removal and carting away of the fill from the site.
Goldman is preparing a grant application to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that, if approved, would pay 60 percent of the costs of the project. The remaining 40 percent would have to come from matching funds or in-kind labor, which is where the request to the Hailey City Council comes in.
The City Council will discuss the land trust's request at its meeting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall on Monday, Dec. 11.
The restoration of wetlands at Lions Park would serve a number of useful purposes, Goldman said.
Not only would it aid in the ecological health of the area through improved wildlife and fish habitat, but it would also serve an excellent educational role for area students and adults, she said.
"It's an incredible resource, these wetlands on the edge of the city," Goldman said.
The restoration project would also improve the wetland's capacity for helping to remove impurities and sediment from water entering the Big Wood River, she said.
In the years to come, ongoing weed removal and water quality monitoring would be conducted to gauge the success of the project.
"It's going to be a great thing," Goldman said.
Photo courtesy of Wood River Land Trust
A proposed wetland restoration project on Hailey-owned land at Lions Park west of Hailey would restore the ecological health of a 1-acre wetland site. The area proposed for restoration is south of the visible softball field in the trees near the center of this photo taken from Carbonate Mountain.
