Miles Projects on the Portneuf River

The Portneuf River runs through the city of Pocatello.  To prevent flooding and provide flood control, the city built a concrete channel that runs through city, but scientists have found that sediments float in the water and fish do not live in this channel because of its contaminates.  If the channel was redesigned and the conservative management was monitored more closely, it could actually be a place where fish could be found.  This Miles project called, Citizen Scientitsts, which also involves the study of this channel, is having a great impact on the citizens of Pocatello and the state lawmakers.  Scientists have developed a geographical application map of Pocatello that allows the average citizen to become a scientist by sharing their favorite geographical areas with the scientitsts involved in its creation.  The citizen can download the app and click on it to show where they are standing on the geographical map.  The time and date is also recorded so the scientitst can veiw their favorite places or the places they value in the community of Pocatello.

Marsh Creek is another tributary to the Portneuf River and this Miles project is studying why the creek is full of muddy water.  The scientists first learned that the sediments come from three specific causes:

1.  Livestock access to the river banks cause erosion and is a sedimentary source to the river.

2.  Construction of levees that eliminate wetlands from existing in Marsh Creek.

3.  There is a large pond in the upper part of Marsh Creek where sediments to be generated and they can possibly be moved down stream.

The live stock owners in this area are working with the scientists and lawmakers to help prevent erosion along the river banks by adding off stream water troughs and moving corrals so the livestock impact along the river bank is lessened.  The conservations efforts from the state are building exclusionary fences along the river banks to reduce livestock impacts along the river banks and provides vegitative cover to grow again without the interference of livestock.

After 2 years of studying the sedimentary flow of Marsh Creek, the scientists have found that most sediments come from tall, unstable stream banks in the lower half of the creek.  However, this land is owned by dozens of different people, which could make it very tricky to implement conservation efforts.  The Miles project of Marsh Creek has helped the lawmakers learn what causes the sediments to exist and what area of the creek they are coming from.  The scientists recommend creating wetlands in the lower area to trap sediments at key points and working with the land owners to reduce sediment input into the river.

The Miles projects are trying to help every Idaho resident learn how to reek the ecosystem benefits of water in Idaho and help preserve its existence by preserving areas that could produce natural water purification and also refill our aquifers.  An example of helping the human system benefit from these Miles projects is by learning why Marsh Creek is muddy and creating a way for it to become uncloudy, so an Idaho resident can see the river bed and possibily fish in it.   

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