Channel Restoration

Deep Creek: Big Hole River Valley, Montana.

Deep Creek, a tributary to the Big Hole River, contains critical habitat for one of the few remaining populations of the Fluvial Arctic Grayling in Montana. During a spring runoff event an eroding streambank contributed a significant amount of bedload to the channel. This material moved downstream and blocked a 1500-foot long meander loop. The channel responded by carving a straight gully through the floodplain menader neck causing a straightening and shortening of the channel. Kingfisher Consulting was hired by the Montana Department of Game and Fish, Wildlife and Parks to restore the valuable habitat lost during this event. We accomplished this by reintroducing stable channel geometry to the creek upstream of th site, recontouring the channel at the entry to the abandoned meander, and creating a series of stable plugs in the cutoff channel.