Bar BC Spring Creek consist of two springs (Little and Lower) that flow together into the Gros Ventre River. It has been identified and studied by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) as an important spawning stream for native Snake River cutthroat trout (SRC). Modifications to the culvert at the outlet of Bar BC Creek into the Gros Ventre River in late 2017 highlighted the existence of a seasonal fish passage barrier for smaller size classes of SRC, which together with future levee expansion work would place the future of this important spawning population at risk. The Bar BC Creek Fish Passage and Channel Restoration Project worked with partners, private landowners, and technical experts to reconnect and ensure fish passage at this location for the benefit of all life stages of SRC in the Gros Ventre and Upper Snake watersheds, into the future. This project was completed in winter 2019/2020.
The WGFD has monitored spawning trends in Bar BC Spring Creek since the 1960s. The long-term dataset is unique and indicative of spring creek trends in the Upper Snake River watershed and informs management decisions and assessments of population dynamics. In addition, wild trout from Bar BC Spring Creek have been used since 1965 by WGFD to add native genetics to their SRC brood stock.
In recent years, private landowners have completed habitat enhancement and restoration work to improve the Bar BC Spring Creek fishery. These efforts by private landowners have shown increases in trout numbers and spawning redd counts as documented by WGFD monitoring.
However, Bar BC Spring Creek was in need of fish passage and channel restoration efforts, as a result of previous as well as new hydraulic and geomorphic conditions. As Bar BC Spring Creek flowed into the Gros Ventre River, it passed through a 42” culvert underneath a flood control levee that was undersized for its length, and therefore affected fish passage, flood flow conveyance, and sediment transport. In late fall 2017, the culvert was extended as part of levee maintenance work, which prompted project partners to conduct fish passage analysis and modeling.
At times of high flows (during the spawning season for cutthroat trout), the culvert was determined to have acted as a velocity barrier to most age classes of SRC. Future levee flood control improvements would have only made passage for SRC through an even longer culvert more difficult, and potentially impaired all movement during the spawning season into Bar BC Spring Creek. In addition, the channel immediately upstream of the culvert was overwide, ponded, and shallow due to the undersized and plugged culvert, causing concern that fish migrating through this stream reach would be more susceptible to high stream temperatures and predation.
The goals of the Bar BC Spring Creek Fish Passage and Channel Restoration Project, completed in winter 2019/2020, were to 1) reconnect and ensure fish passage in the creek for all life stages of SRC; 2) improve local habitat conditions for migrating trout immediately upstream of the culvert; and 3) establish wetlands adjacent to the restored channel. By meeting these goals, several public benefits were realized including ensuring fish passage for native SRC, improving sediment transport, improving instream habitat quality and diversity, and reducing flood risk to homeowners.
Project partners included Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited, Teton Conservation District, Teton County Road and Levee, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, private landowners, private donors, and the project consultant team.