Highlight from USGS Monitoring of Restoration Work on the Kootenai River, Northern Idaho
Between 2011 and 2018, the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project, led by the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, implemented restoration treatments to enhance the natural recruitment of the critically endangered Acipenser transmontanus (white sturgeon) and other fish native to the Kootenai River. Restoration treatments in the Braided, Straight, and Meander Reaches of the Kootenai River are intended to increase flow depths and velocities to encourage Kootenai sturgeon to spawn in more suitable areas of the channel, keep spawning gravels clean of fine sediment, and provide suitable coarse substrate for spawning.
The USGS has collected data in support of project design and monitoring. Two recent studies highlight restoration outcomes. The first focuses on the substrate enhancement pilot project that installed coarse substrate in locations in the Meander Reach where sturgeon had been spawning over fine sediment. The second study summarizes channel changes in response to restoration treatments with a focus on metrics that support successful sturgeon spawning.
Megan Kenworthy is a hydrologist at the USGS Idaho Water Science Center in Boise, Idaho. Growing up in Idaho, she learned to raft and kayak on the rivers near Boise and decided to turn her interest in rivers into a career. She holds a MSc in Hydrology from Boise State University. Her work has included an investigation of deposition and incision on alluvial fans, flume-based research on channel morphology and sediment transport, and field work on diverse stream channels across the lower 48. Her work at the USGS involves issues related to surface water, hydraulic modeling, channel morphology, and suspended sediment transport.
Taylor Dudunake is the acting Surface Water Specialist at the USGS Idaho Water Science Center. A lifelong Idahoan, Taylor developed an early fascination with the movement of rivers across the state. He earned his B.S. from Boise State University and his M.S. from the University of Idaho. Taylor’s work integrates field-based data collection, geospatial analysis, and remote sensing to characterize key river attributes such as water depth, streambed elevation, temperature, aquatic vegetation, and habitat. These variables are critical to understanding channel morphology and river hydraulics. One of Taylor’s favorite aspects of his role is leveraging the diverse array of tools he’s accumulated for data collection—including multibeam sonar, GNSS survey equipment, UAS, and jet boats—to explore and better understand river systems.