BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Heagle Park entrance to the Colorado Gulch Preserve in Hailey will be closed beginning in mid-October to allow work to transform a degraded stretch of the Big Wood River into a healthy habitat.

Closures will remain in place for the duration of the project, which is expected to wrap up in mid-November, said Meg Pulliam, communications director for the Wood River Land Trust, which is partnering with the City of Hailey and Flood Control District No. 9 on the project.

The Heagle Park Floodplain Restoration Project will address a section of the river that once was home to the Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant.

It was severely altered by past land uses, including the construction of riprap levees and an old effluent pipe, which has resulted in highly unstable banks, limited floodplain function and increased flood risk to the City's wastewater lift station.

The project will remove artificial confinement, such as the riprap and the exposed effluent pipe. Workers will replace armored banks with naturally occurring materials like log jams. They’ll also reestablish floodplain connectivity and improve side channels to provide more spawning habitat for fish.

In a unique educational partnership, ninth-grade students from Sage School will participate in the project this October, installing native plants along the restored riverbank. The hands-on experience aligns with the students' coursework on natural systems and ecology while providing essential erosion control for the long-term success of the restoration.

“This project is a great example of how to use nature-based solutions to improve habitat and mitigate flood risk,” said John Wright, the Flood Control District #9 commissioner.

The entrance to Colorado Gulch Preserve is also closed at Colorado Gulch Road for the construction of the County’s Colorado Gulch bridge. But public access to the Colorado Gulch Preserve will remain available via the Red Feather Way entrance.

For alternative options for river access and hiking/walking during the closures, visit https://www.woodriverlandtrust.org/public-access-preserves.