They found a way to restore wetland

A few years ago, a Latah County couple decided to transform their property to help protect the aquifer.

This piqued the interest of local and regional environmental experts, who worked together to turn a dry valley into a restored wetland.

Brian and Pam Robertson acquired a half-mile of Little Bear Creek near Deary 30 years ago. From the beginning, they knew that section of the valley had been degraded by many years of erosion.

Brian Robertson said logging practices from the early 1900s dried up the wetland that was there and left a fast-flowing creek that cut a ravine into the ground. The ravine was as deep as 12 feet at one point, he said.

The aquifer underneath the valley dropped as a result, and the Robertsons found out their neighbors could not find water when they tried to drill wells on their properties.

“It’s expensive to drill a hole and have no water,” Brian Robertson said.

That motivated the Robertsons to ask around about what it would take to restore the wetland. Robertson said their property was one of thousands of streams and valleys in the country that were drained and could no longer recharge the underlying aquifers.

“This is all about putting water back in valleys,” he said.

It evolved into a massive group effort involving 15 or so agencies and organizations like the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Idaho, Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute, Palouse Land Trust and the Potlatch Implementation Group. Brian Robertson said even the U.S. Forest Service from Deschutes National Forest helped out because they had undertaken similar projects in Oregon.

The retired Robertsons called it their “senior project” and planning began in 2019. Geologists, engineers and hydrologists studied their property. The goal was to achieve “stage zero restoration,” which means restoring the property to what it looked like before settlers altered the landscape, Brian Robertson said.

As much as 25,000 years’ worth of dirt was excavated and logs were placed on the ground to slow down the creek and spread out the water.

The team also planted vegetation that grows naturally at wetlands, including willows, cottonwoods and aspens. Brian Robertson said more than 40,000 plants were planted.

The bulk of the work happened in 2020, and since then the Robertsons have noticed a change in the local wildlife.

In addition to seeing more elk and beavers than before, they are being visited by birds they have never previously seen on their land.

“We’ve never seen a sandpiper here in all the years we’ve lived here,” he said.

They have also seen an abundance of mayflies and caddis in the water that are prime fish food, he said.

On Tuesday, the Palouse Land Trust announced the closing of a conservation easement that will protect a 150-acre parcel of Robertson’s land from development.

The Robertsons want to spread the word about what has been accomplished on their land. On Aug 24, they will give a presentation to other landowners and the University of Idaho extension program at Pitkin Forest Nursery in Moscow.

Brian Robertson said he is proud of the way their senior project turned out.

“It just feels good to do something good for the environment,” he said.