The Beaverhead Watershed Committee retained Pinyon to survey and develop restoration recommendations for improving fish habitat and water quality along four miles of Poindexter Slough. At one time, Poindexter Slough was a natural side channel of the Beaverhead River but is currently controlled by a head gate. Pinyon identified potential improvements including, restoring appropriate width-to-depth ratios for riffles and pools, restoring or isolating fine sediment deposits from the stream bed, and encouraging natural recruitment of willows and other woody riparian vegetation.
Pinyon was awarded a second contract, where our team was able to finalize the design plans which included re-grading 5,700 feet of the channel, modifying channel width and depth throughout the 4.75 miles of the channel, re-sloping vertical banks and transplanting 130 willows to reduce bank erosion, and upgrading diversion structures on the Beaverhead River and the Dillon Canal to enable flushing and flows, eliminate backwatering, and improve fish passage.
Pinyon is proud to share that this project ranked in the top five to be funded by the Montana Legislature in 2011. In 2016, Montana Fish, Wild-life, and Parks (MFWP) awarded Pinyon with the Award of Excellence for our role in this project!
