EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Floodplain New and Old

Kootenai River Valley, northern Idaho

Explanation:  Mouse over the photo above, and see where this river approximately used to flow.  Now, the river is bound to its current course by levees, railroad beds, floodwalls, and other constraints.  

We are overlooking the beautiful Kootenai River Valley in the northern Idaho panhandle.  This is a visual lesson about how river floodplains are typically used for the ecosystem and geographic services they provide.  

Most of the light tan color in the above photo is currently agricultural fields and croplands that take advantage of the deep, fertile, productive soils left by centuries of deposition.  

This is where the river used to naturally flood its banks, and where stands of black cottonwood trees and copses of willows and other riparian shrubs flourished, some of which can still be seen in the remaining river islands and shorelines.  

In seeking a balance of use and conservation, some of the existing and historic floodplain area could be restored to seasonal wetlands.  This where much of the natural biological diversity of the valley resides.  

This particular river system is also home to amazing fish including white sturgeon and the ancient burbot.  
 

The Kootenai River, near Bonners Ferry, northern Idaho.
The blue in the above photo is the river in its current course.
The light tan is agricultural and other fields in the historic floodplain.