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Big Donation for Shoshone Playground
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
April 12, 2017
Volume 41 ~ Number 15
Valleywide Cooperative and Land O’Lakes Inc. Support Renovation Project
On Tuesday, March 14th, 2017, Representatives from the City of Shoshone, Lincoln County Commissioners, Valleywide Cooperative, Saddle Up Lincoln County and Lincoln County Probation were on hand for a check presentation. Check was received by Clairissa Granquist, Shoshone Renovation Park Project Chairwomen and Saddle Up Member. Valleywide and Land O’Lakes Inc donated $10,000 towards the playground renovation project. Money is being raised to update the playground equipment and establish a new toddler’s area located at the Mary Gooding Park in Shoshone. New equipment will include new slides, a rock climbing area, and swings. The new playground will also accommodate disabled and non-disabled children.
The current plan is to start construction on the the new playground in April of 2018. With the help of the City of Shoshone and Saddle Up Lincoln County, the project will be funded through grants and fundraising events that are being scheduled throughout the year. For more information about the project you can visit the Shoshone Renovation Park Project on Facebook.
Winter Fish Kill at Mormon Reservoir A combination of thick ice, deep snow, and low storage conditions likely caused a fish winterkill at Mormon Reservoir. “Winterkills occur when sunlight is blocked for extended periods limiting photosynthesis which provides oxygen in the water,” said Doug Megargle, Regional Fishery Manager. “Decomposing bacteria use up the available oxygen to break down vegetation leaving none for other aquatic organism, like fish.” Investigations are ongoing and Idaho Department of Fish and Game has not determined if it is a complete or partial winterkill. “This is very disappointing,” said Megargle. “Camas County had worked hard to restore public access to the fishery last year rebuilding bridges that had been condemned for safety reasons. We had stocked last fall hoping we could begin to rebuild the fishery, even though stocking conditions weren’t ideal. We took the chance stocking in better than average water levels for that time of the year, but we did not anticipating such a heavy snowfall winter”. Idaho Fish and Game will start over trying to rebuild the fishery this spring. Water storage will likely be substantially improved in 2017 due to the same snowpack that caused the winterkill. Approximately 3,000 12-inch long trout are scheduled to be stocked in late April, and 100,000 fingerling-sized trout will arrive in September, should conditions be suitable.
IDAHO’S WATER OUTLOOK The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) just released the fourth water supply outlook report for the 2016 water year. Precipitation since the water year started on October 1, 2016, is above average across the state, and record breaking in the Big Wood Basin above Hailey at 180% of average. Other basins are seeing their highest snowpack in two decades. Northern Idaho (Panhandle Region and Clearwater basins) are the closest to normal snowpack conditions across the state this year. Overall, the Salmon River basin snow is 130% of median, the best since 2006. The Weiser snowpack is mostly melted at 105% of median. Overall, the Payette basin is 118% of median. The snowpack in the Boise headwaters is 140 to 160% of median – its highest since 1997. The Big Wood basin snowpack remains record high since the 7-station index starts in 1961. The continued on page 3 .....