Red Ives Creek is a tributary to the Upper St. Joe River in southeastern Shoshone County. The Upper St. Joe holds the only remaining tributaries in which bull trout continue to spawn in the entire Spokane River system! Restoration work in these critical drainages has been designated as of high importance for this reason by the US Forest Service who manages the lands in the Upper Joe. Over the next ten years the USFS hopes to implement many projects aimed at improving water quality, stream and riparian habitat.
Trout Unlimited joined with the Idaho Panhandle National Forest to begin this work in 2021 with the removal of Red Ives Dam. This removal included enhancement of the channel directly adjacent to the dam. Bull trout redds were found upstream of the dam the first season following its removal! In 2023, TU partnered again with the Forest to add over a thousand logs into Red Ives Creek to help create more complexity in the stream, develop pools, create cover, and increase interaction with the floodplain.
Project
- Restoration & Reconnection
Partner
- Idaho Panhandle National Forest
Focus
- Dam Removal
- Diversified Habitat
There are future projects planned on Red Ives Creek and on other critical trout streams in the Upper Joe that TU will likely collaborate with the USFS to accomplish.
The high elevation and protection that public lands provides from development and other human impacts makes this area of the Spokane River Basin essential for sensitive cold-water fish species.
