This week on Sustainable Idaho, Scott and Rachel speak to Hannah Sanger from the City of Pocatello about the Portneuf River Vision. The River Vision is a collaborative mission led by the City of Pocatello and the Army Corps of Engineers, to find out what local people what from their river corridor and make it a reality.
The Portneuf River has long been viewed as a dirty waterway that is managed purely to protect against flooding. Typically, a river running through the heart of a community would be a beautiful meeting place, where kayaks would float, and anglers would fish. But not Pocatello. Here, the river seems more of a burden than an asset.
But it doesn’t have to be this way and there are folks working to re-vision the Portneuf River into a haven for both people and nature. Spearheaded by Hannah Sanger, from the City of Pocatello, the Portneuf River Vision Project, is working with a non-profit conservation organization, called the Sage Brush Steppe Land Trust, to develop and implement a fundraising and land acquisition plan to make this vision a reality.
We started by asking Hannah Sanger, what is the River Vision and how is it trying to re-vision the Portneuf River.
“The Portneuf River Vision Project started a collaborative mission led by the City of Pocatello and the Army Corps of Engineers, to find out what local people what from their river corridor and make it a reality. The Army Corps offered funding to survey and consult with local people and identify if they wanted changes to their river, and if so, what changes.”
Through this consultative process, the City of Pocatello was able to identify that local people wanted significant changes to the Portneuf River in Pocatello. Specifically, the public made it clear that they wanted a more natural river corridor, one with less concrete channelization, more access for fishing and floating, and improved ecosystem health.
Part of the River Vision is plans to modify Centennial Park, which is a medium sized park in downtown Pocatello that boarders the river. The plan is to set back the existing levee and create a wetland area and improved river access.
We continued by asking Hannah why the parks are a priority for the River Vision?
“The parks were identified as a top priority project by the community. Also, the parks represent a cost-effective area to work. Working in the concrete channel will cost lots of money, but working away from the channel in the parks, is achievable without spending too many millions of dollars.”
One of the major concerns that local people have regarding alterations to the river channel, has to do with flooding. Many residents remember the floods that occurred in Pocatello in the 1960s, and are worried that is we alter the channel, this may happen again. However, Hannah assured us that the proposed changes to the river corridor will maintain a high level of flood protection. In fact, the River Vision is not legally able to make any changes, which do not provide a comparative level of flood protection capacity.
The River Vision, which has the support of local people, appears to be a powerful tool in improving recreational access and ecosystem health, whilst maintaining adequate flood protections. What remains now is implementation and this is where the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust comes in.
Join us next week on Sustainable Idaho to find out more about the Land Trust and how they will be partnering with the City of Pocatello to make this vision a reality.
Thanks to Hannah Sanger this week, join us for Sustainable Idaho, every Tuesday morning at 7.35am.