Project Banks On The Future Permanent Solution Sought At Dragoon Creek

Flood-swollen Dragoon Creek went on a binge in January, devouring sandy soil from Herbert Smith’s farm like a chocoholic let loose at a Nestle factory.

The creek, which in summer is small enough to leap across, left a 13-foot cliff behind the home Smith rents out, carrying silt downstream to the Little Spokane River.

Seven months later, crews working for the Spokane County Conservation District are restoring the bank and hope to forever curb Dragoon’s appetite for Smith’s land.

The work was the top priority of the Dragoon Creek Citizens Committee, a group given $40,000 in state money to protect and restore the tiny trout stream that drains parts of northern Spokane and southern Stevens counties.

Called “bioengineering,” the project on Smith’s land will take about half the money. The rest of the $40,000 is for fences to keep cattle out of the water, trees to reforest portions of shoreline and pamphlets to educate people about protecting the creek.

Crews from Adverse Excavating of Bonners Ferry will spend the rest of this week anchoring 20-foot logs at the bottom of the cliff on Smith’s place. Stumps still attached to the logs will face the creek to help strain debris from the water.

Soil bagged in biodegradable fabric will be stair-stepped atop the logs, said Monica Lundgren of the Spokane County Conservation District. Then the cliff will be sloped to meet the steps.

Finally, crews will plant native willows and shrubs in the fresh soil.

Over the years, as debris from the river piles up, the fix should begin to look natural, said Keith Smith, owner of Adverse Excavating and no relation to Herbert Smith. The company has completed similar projects in Oregon, he said.

The work is designed to withstand the kind of floods than normally happen only once every century, said Lundgren. That’s the kind of flood that hit Jan. 1, when temperatures rose and rain fell on snow.

Traditionally, farmers lined streams with rip-rap - usually large rocks but sometimes old car bodies - to stop erosion.

Scientists say such fixes are only temporary and can cause worse flooding downstream. Rip-rap also is unsightly and prevents the growth of streamside trees and shrubs beneficial to fish, birds and other wildlife.

Smith is skeptical of the work being done on his 125-acre farm. He wanted to dump truckloads of rocks down the cliff when the river rose in January, but couldn’t get permission from the state agencies that monitor streams and wildlife.

But the farmer sounded hopeful as he watched workers in wetsuits or chest waders work in the waist-deep water Tuesday.

“I hope someday I can see high water coming and not have to rush down here to see how close it’s chugging” to the rental house, he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo