Handicapped access to Wood River Valley fishing waters could result if a U.S. Forest Service environmental study is approved.
Officials with the Sawtooth National Forest's Ketchum Ranger District are proposing to build a wheelchair-accessible platform on Penny Lake, a popular fishing pond about two miles west of Ketchum along Warm Springs Creek.
The project would be a cooperative effort with the local Hemingway Chapter of Trout Unlimited and would be constructed later this summer or fall. Although it would be available for use by everyone, the platform would be built to allow easy access and use by wheelchair-bound anglers, a Sawtooth National Forest news release states.
Along with construction of the platform, the proposed project will also include rehabilitation of the pond shoreline to allow regrowth of vegetation and to minimize erosion.
Penny Lake is a spring-fed pond of about two-thirds of an acre on U.S. Forest Service-managed public land in the Warm Springs Creek floodplain. The pond is popular with young and beginning anglers because the Idaho Department of Fish and Game frequently stocks it with catchable-sized rainbow trout. Because of its popularity, much of the pond's shoreline has become compacted and devoid of vegetation, making it muddy in the spring.
The platform would provide a stable and dry area from which to fish and should lessen shoreline trampling, Forest Service officials say.
The platform would be built by Trout Unlimited volunteers and Forest Service staff on the south end of the pond, directly adjacent to the existing parking lot. A smooth and gently-sloping path would lead to the platform from the parking lot, a portion of which would also be improved for wheelchair accessibility.
The platform would be built from wood and similar materials and extend about 30 feet along the shoreline and up to 8 feet into the pond.
Proposed rehabilitation would consist of planting dogwood and willows on the trampled shoreline. The work would also limit future shoreline access.
In addition to the proposed platform, shoreline fishing sites would consist of individually accessible areas about 20 feet in length. The Sawtooth National Forest is proposing up to 10 such designated fishing areas along the shoreline of the pond, while the remainder of the shoreline would be planted and restricted to entry to allow riparian vegetation to regenerate.
If approved, the platform construction and shoreline rehabilitation activities would occur on one or several weekends during late summer or fall. Additional volunteer assistance will be solicited later in the year when the exact timing of the project is determined.
The Forest Service has prepared a detailed briefing paper regarding the proposed project at Penny Lake. Copies can be obtained at the Ketchum Ranger District office at 206 Sun Valley Rd. in Ketchum, or by calling 622-5371.
Written comments on the proposal should be sent by May 30 to the Ketchum Ranger District, Box 2356, Ketchum, ID 83340, attention Dan Kenney.
