SKYLINE FISHING POND

Butte, Montana

Butte-Silver Bow County developed an open space area into an urban recreational park with a kid’s fishing pond.  The development impacted sections of Reese Canyon Creek and required Section 404 permit authorization.  WET conducted a wetland delineation and identified jurisdictional waters’ locations and quantified project impacts on sensitive habitats.  Impacts were calculated above the wetland mitigation threshold, and the county elected to conduct on-site mitigation to offset project disturbances and to meet Corps requirements.  WET developed a wetland restoration plan to achieve the mitigation ratio requirements needed by incorporating additional wetland creation and enhancement designs into the final park plans.  The approved work plan addressed on-site design criteria, completion timeframes, and annual wetland monitoring requirements.  WET provided construction oversight during park development and site restoration, then submitted the required As-built drawings to the Corps.  The restoration area was monitored annually, and mitigation status reports were provided to the Corps.  After three years of monitoring and maintenance, the site met restoration goals, and a Compliance Certification was submitted to and approved by the Corps.