In 2024, Ruby Habitat Foundation, in cooperation with various supporting organizations and individuals, altered our beloved pond and stream system known as Cattail Creek. This $300k+ project removed the channel and ponds which had become less functional from a fluvial perspective. The channel had widened, avulsed, and was collecting sediment. This made for some spots so shallow that the fins of fish were out of the water.
The new system has an improved anchoring base and is narrower, faster (read: self-cleaning) and absent of all but the biggest of the old ponds. Equally significant, we removed fish barriers so that the new system is open to the Ruby River, creating about a half-mile of new spawning tributary for Ruby River fish. Our hope is that this new system will become a “fish factory” to help increase the numbers of fish in the Ruby which have been in decline over the past couple decades.
In many ways, this project is emblematic of mission fulfillment. Ruby Habitat Foundation’s mission focuses on balancing agriculture, wildlife, and recreational pursuits; in the case of Cattail Creek, we restored a bit of balance to our “equation” by shifting resources from recreation (the old system was heavily used for fishing) toward wildlife.
