Project Overview

Blackrock Creek is a Wild & Scenic freestone tributary of the Buffalo Fork, a major tributary to the Snake River. The project is located on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) along Blackrock Creek, 550 feet east of the BTNF Blackrock Ranger Station and upstream of the US Highway 26 bridge on the creek’s river left bank. Due to the lateral migration of Blackrock Creek and high flow events in recent years, near bank stress has compromised the leveed bank and required emergency stabilization measures using riprap in spring 2017 to combat flooding of the ranger station. Existing irrigation infrastructure at the upstream end of the bank may currently be a weak point that has increasing risk of failure and has the potential to once again flood the ranger station as well as private properties downstream (down the ditch) during high flows. The project would utilize bioengineered bank stabilization techniques that better align with Wild and Scenic River values, while increasing habitat quality for native fishes, reducing fine sediment inputs and land loss, and maintaining irrigation capacity.