Last month American Whitewater filed a motion to intervene and comments on a new proposal to dam northern Idaho’s Boulder Creek.  Boulder Creek is listed as critical habitat for the federally threatened bull trout, and offers paddlers at least two runnable waterfalls. The proposed diversion project would likely only generate power in the spring when there is a glut of cheap hydropower on the regional market.  It would also result in significant impacts associated with the construction of the dam, flume/pipe, powerhouse,  transmission, and related roads.

The proposed project is similar to the dam on nearby Smith Creek, which has virtually wiped out paddling opportunities on the ultra-classic Idaho steep creek.  These types of projects remove water during times when flows are gradually receding – flows that are vital for paddlers and aquatic organisms – and leave only very high or very low flows in the streams with fast transitions between the two.  This hundred year old technology is also being rampantly built in nearby British Columbia.   

Our filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will ensure that the predictable impacts of the proposed project on recreation, bull trout, and other ecological values are carefully weighed against the project’s limited economic and energy values. You can download our filing in the document box to the right of this article.