The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to direct $430,000 toward rehabilitation of more than 1,000 acres of bird and wildlife habitat on the Crystal Creek and Spring Creek ranches in southern Blaine County.
The money, part of the federal government's massive stimulus spending bill passed earlier this year, will be allocated through the agency's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, which calls for the costs of the projects to be shared by the owners of the two ranches. Ducks Unlimited, a membership group that works to protect wetlands, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will also contribute to the projects, a Fish and Wildlife news release states.
Crystal Creek Ranch is located in the Bellevue Triangle, south of Bellevue. Spring Creek Ranch is located near Timmerman Hill, south of U.S. Highway 20. The owners of Spring Creek Ranch in 2006 proposed that the ranch could be developed as a new city but the plan has not gained serious traction.
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"The goal of this habitat restoration project is to restore and permanently protect habitat ... to conserve migratory birds and a variety of sensitive wildlife species including: bald eagles, great blue herons, long-billed curlews, sandhill cranes, and trumpeter swans," the agency's news release states.
The restoration efforts will focus on wetlands and riparian areas.
The projects will help stimulate the economy through the employment of contracted workers and the purchase of supplies and materials, the agency said.
The allocation to Blaine County is part of approximately $1.7 million in Fish and Wildlife funds approved for distribution in Idaho.
