Therriault Creek is an important westslope cutthroat and bull trout tributary to the Tobacco River in the upper Kootenai River watershed. Historical agricultural practices in the early 1900s straightened the channel resulting in severe incision and dewatering of the 66 acre wet meadow complex.  RDG was retained to design and implement a 9,200 ft restoration project aimed at creating a naturally functioning, meandering channel at the historical floodplain elevation.  The project was completed in 2004 and revegetation efforts with the assistance from Geum Environmental Consulting, Inc., are currently in progress to reduce the cover of reed canarygrass and promote woody vegetation and sedge community types associated with the reactivated wet meadow complex. 

Key project components included:

• Restoration design and construction management services
• Constructing 9,200 ft of channel at the historical floodplain surface
• Re-establishing wetland hydrology on 66 acres of drained and prior converted wetlands
• Converting 6,000 ft of existing channel to off-channel, open water wetland complexes