The Chapter was named after a nationally known sportswriter - Ted Trueblood. For more than 40 years in the pages of Field & Stream, True, other magazines, and in books, native Idahoan Ted Trueblood wrote about fishing and hunting. Ted died in 1982. His family was honored when we ask if a Trout Unlimited chapter could be named after him.

During the previous year the chapter has worked on the following list of projects. A detailed description of five of the projects will follow this list.

1. Bear Valley Radio Telemetry project on the migration habits of the Westslope Cutthroat trout.
See cutthroatradio.com

2. Harris Ranch Project. The goal is to excavate about ¾ of a mile of filled in side channel on the Boise River within the city limits of Boise, Idaho.

3. Expanded the Trout in the Classroom program from six to nine classrooms.

4. Wooly Buggers - a local fly fishing club for kids from six to sixteen. A total of 143 kids were brought in as new TU members.

5. Silver Creek Dams Removal Project. Seven small dams on seven small streams have been blocking Bull Trout (federally listed as threatened) from spawning in the headwaters of this watershed for 30 plus years.

6. Eagle Island Stream Project. We are co-sponsoring with a large private landowner to reconstruct the channel and restore 5/8 of a mile of stream to become a spawning area in the lower Boise River drainage area.

7. Squaw Creek Fencing Project. Coordinated with the Payette National Forest on a day project for volunteers to fence off a portion of the creek to protect Bull Trout (federally listed as threatened) habitat.

8. Hosted the TUTV program on Bear Valley Creek in September 2001. This showcased a major Westslope Cutthroat trout watershed.

9. Supported the Reed Gillespie Chapter by providing $500 to fund their project to build a pond recreation area, which includes handicapped access fishing facilities.

10. Fly Fishing Seminar. The seminar was co-sponsored with Boise Valley Fly Fishers and the Wooly Buggers - 805 attended. Our chapter set up a booth where we displayed project information, pushed conversation issues, and recruited new TU members.

11. Trout on Tuesday Fund Raiser. Sponsored an event in a local concert hall to show the TUTV programs filmed in Idaho in the year 2001 - 185 attended. We also had a silent auction to raise funds for future projects.

Project Details

Bear Valley Watershed. In September of 1999 thirty radio tags were implanted into fish whose minimum size was 13 inches. Every two weeks for the next year a plane flew over the watershed and located the trout by locating the radio telemetry signal. This data was recorded and used for two objectives. The first was by the US Forest Service Fisheries Biologist who analyzed the migration habits of the Westslope Cutthroat trout. The second use was by the Garden Valley High School Advanced Biology Class. These students posted the biweekly data on an Internet web site called "cutthroatradio.com".

The objectives of this project were to: 1. Collect tracking data to understand the dynamics of the migration. 2. Use the data to design future habitat work projects to enhance the protection of the species. 3. Gather data that will be presented to the public to increase awareness of the Westslope Cutthroat issues. 4. Publish the final report in a technical publication so the data will become part of the fisheries body of knowledge.

Objectives one, two, and three have been completed. The final revision of the technical report is being written as I draft this document. The chapter has approved the funding to publish the article in the appropriate technical journal. The estimated cost is $225.

The significance of this project is no migration data exists for this species of trout. The US Forest Service does not know what projects to work on that will do the most to help protect and maintain this species of trout. This study will be the basis for many other Westslope Cutthroat projects in the future on both this watershed and all other Westslope Cutthroat trout watersheds. The chapter has worked on this watershed since 1993 and will continue to as long as it takes to fully develop the habitat. Chinook salmon also spawn in the Bear Creek watershed.

The scope of this project covers two a half years. The proposal, approval, and coordination of resources took a year. The data collection took a year and finally it took six months to analyze the data and write the final report. The cost of this project was in excess of $40,000. Funding for the project came from three sources. TU EAS grants covered $6,250. Outfitters and private individuals purchased some of the radio tags. The US Forest Service covered the majority of the cost and provided all of the equipment. The Ted Trueblood Chapter provided the fly fisher folk to catch the fish and the US Forest Service provided all other personnel.

Harris Ranch Project. The objective is to create a trout spawning ground below Barber Dam within the city of Boise, Idaho. A large developer donated the land to the city. An old side channel that has filled in since the dam was built will be excavated and restored to create additional spawning beds for the trout trapped below the dam.

The objectives are to get the permits, raise $80,000, and reconstruct the spawning channel. At this point in time we have completed the initial surveys, raised $55,000, and started the application process for the permits.

This is a significant project as we are restoring a riverbed in an urban environment. This requires the following agencies to work together to complete the project: The City of Boise, Idaho Fish and Game, State of Idaho, US Army Corp of Engineers, and the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The biggest obstacle is the coordination of all the agencies to approve the plans. We are slowly making good progress in that area. Raising the money is on track with the project.

The cost estimate came in at $80,000. We have raised funds from: Trout Unlimited EAS grant - $8,000, City of Boise - $10,000, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation - $20,000, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - $10,000, and the Ted Trueblood chapter will spend $7,000. Total money raised to date is $55,000.

Trout in the Classroom. The objective is to teach kids from the fourth grade through high school about the environment needed to for trout to survive. This objective is clearly being met. Children receive eggs, create the "redd", watch the fry hatch, feed them for 8 weeks, and release them into the local trout waters. Even when the fry all die it becomes part of the "Natural Disaster" portion of the curriculum.

The significance of this project is the long-term understanding of what is required to protect the coldwater species of fish. This program is in two very rural areas where "government intervention" is considered an attack on the local population. By creating the environmental understanding of fish habitat in the children they will carry this knowledge into their adult lives and have a positive effect in shaping the community attitudes about fish and watershed management.

The cost is about $650 per setup. Today the chapter has funded all but one of the schools. The US Forest Service has funded one of the schools at a cost of $850. We know we can get corporate sponsorship of this program. As the project grows we will seek those funds.

The schools in this area are willing to add this project to the science curriculum. We are limiting the growth of this program to ensure we can manage it properly. In the last year we increased the number of schools by 50% to nine schools.

Wooly Buggers. The objective was to expand TU membership to the youth of our community. Initially we have accomplished that goal. The long-term results are still unknown.

The chapter "adopted" 114 families by paying their membership dues for one year. We gained 143 kids as new TU members. This cost us $1,710.

We sponsor, promote, and sometimes have projects with the Wooly Buggers. We have and will continue to work closely with their organization.

Silver Creek Dams Removal Project. The objective is to remove seven small dams (3 to 6 ft.) from seven tributaries of Silver Creek in order to restore Bull trout spawning habitat. We expect to remove the dams during the summer of 2002.

The chapter, US Forest Service, and Idaho Fish & Game are coordinating on this project. This project is on public land and will restore spawning habitat for Brook, Rainbow, and Bull trout.

The big issue is how to remove the sediment from behind the dams. The initial plan is to suction the sediment into trucks. The US Forest Service is evaluating the issue this week. The dams will be removed using volunteer labor with US Forest Service supervision.

The cost estimate is $21,600. We have four sources of funds: US Forest Service - $12,000, Resource Advisor Committee - $5,600, Idaho Fish & Game Community Challenge Grant - $2,000, and the chapter will provide up to $2,000.

Eagle Island Stream Project. The primary objective is to restructure 5/8 of a mile of clogged and pancaked streambed in order to recreate and maintain a trout spawning ground on the lower Boise River. The secondary objective is to establish a good relationship with a major conservative landowner in the Boise area.

The primary objective work is in process. The surveys are complete. A hydrologist has drawn up the plans to restructure the stream. The stream banks have been fenced about seventy five feet back form the stream and over three hundred trees have been planted along the banks. We are currently getting the permits and working with the landowner to get a conservation easement approved.

The secondary objective has been accomplished. We have a good relationship with the landowner. He has told us his upstream neighbor is watching to see if this project is successfully. If it is, then he would be interested in developing the 3/8 of a mile of stream on his property. We will use this project relationship as a basis to work with other landowners in Boise. The significance of this project is getting a major landowner in an urban environment to understand and work toward upgrading the river environment to support spawning beds for the fish trapped below Barber Dam. We have a large follow on project which will happen next year or the year after.

The only real obstacle we need to overcome is a noxious weed that grows in the wetland and clogs up the stream. The weed needs calm water to take over. Creating a channel and maintaining a flow is expected to keep the weed at bay. We have a minimum flow from the Eagle Island Fish Hatchery. The plans are based on using that flow rate to maintain the stream bottom and banks.

The cost of this project is $72,000. The landowner will pay for all costs beyond the grant money he is applying for.

The new principle we are working toward is getting the private landowners to understand and work toward maintaining the watershed habitat. Local landowners in Idaho have been very reluctant to work with government agencies on any environmental issue. As we work with the landowners we also bring in the government agencies. We buffer the differences and help the landowner understand the benefits to all of upgrading the habitat.

We have had a high degree of cooperation between the chapter and the landowner. This covered setting up the project, releasing the public announcements, hiring the hydrologist, and applying for the permits. When the time comes for volunteer labor, the chapter has worked out an agreement with the Eagle Boy Scout Troop #97 to provide all of the project labor. The chapter will only provide management labor on the project.

The other projects. Due to the space constraints of the nomination process the details of projects 7 to 11 cannot be listed here. They are smaller projects which have very common characteristics.

If additional information is needed please contact Richard Jones at 208 853 7788.

Questions or comments send to: tutedtrue@aol.com
Ted Trueblood Chapter Idaho Trout Umlimited