Chocolate Milk River
Submitted by Stephanie Nickell on Sun, 2017-06-04 00:00
The Portneuf River runs alongside my school. We observe, we study, and we work to understand what makes a river a "healthy" river. I enjoyed watching the videos about some of the work that MILES is doing within our state to positively impact the environment. One thing that stuck out most to me, was the research being done on Marsh Creek. I had no idea the majority of the sediment load was coming from something other than cattle. Research and education on the ways we impact our environment is a great way to have a big impact on the future of Idaho.
Comments
Marsh Creek
I learned a lot by watching the video on Marsh Creek and never realized the livestock is the number on contaminator of the water. The conservationists are working with the landowners to improve the muddy choloate milk creek so that it will become appealing to the human eye when they can see the river bed. Sedimentary rocks and soil erosion is part of what is causing the cloudy water in the Creek. They are placing exclusionary fences to stop the interference of the livestock and allow the vegatation to grow back. The livestock owners are putting up water troughs and moving their corrals. The worst area is the lower part of the creek and this land is owned by dozens of people. The conservationists are trying to come up with plans to save this area and possibly turn it into a wetland area, so that natural water purification may occur there and save the water so it can possibly fill an aquifer.