Ada County plans to give wildlife a head start by restoring natural habitat at the Kuna landfill site.

The county sealed the dump with a layer of dirt in 1991. The restoration project will build up that dirt cap to at least 2-1/2 feet, then add topsoil, plants and clay-lined drainage ponds.

“We are planting indigenous grasses only,” said Dave Neal, Ada County’s solid waste management director. “We’re also going to add 7,100 feet of fence around it so we can keep people out and let it revegetate.”

Construction is to start June 1 and be completed in August.

The land is leased from the Bureau of Land Management and will be turned back to the BLM’s control once the project is completed.

With the region’s arid climate, BLM officials say it may take 10 to 15 years for plant life to become fully reestablished. Until then, there are no plans to remove the fence.

“If we let people on there, it would start soil erosion and we’d have moisture percolating through the garbage,” said John Sullivan, BLM natural conservation area manager. “We don’t want that water picking up chemicals or diseases and soaking into the water table.”