Stream Diversion Could Create Duck Ponds Part Of Hauser Creek May Be Altered Later This Year; Public Comments Sought

Part of Hauser Creek may be diverted into two new duck ponds later this year.

The owners, Brett and Tammy Everett, say the ponds provide a better home for geese and ducks that frequent their land each spring. And the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says redirecting a bit of Hauser Creek won’t affect Hauser Lake, which it feeds.

The ponds will be built on land the Everetts currently use for hay fields. The ground always floods in the spring and, in wet years, much of the summer.

The Everetts need the permission of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Idaho Department of Water Resources in order to divert the creek and build the ponds. One pond would be one-fifth of an acre and the other would be two acres.

Because of the high-profile nature of the project - just north of Hauser Lake Road - the corps is asking for public comment on the proposal. People have until July 19 to comment on the larger pond and until July 23 to comment on the smaller pond.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources will accept comments on the water diversion until July 20.

Idaho Fish and Game will contribute up to $4,000 of the estimated $8,000 needed to dig the two ponds, build nesting structures for geese and wood ducks, and plant waterfowl-friendly vegetation, said habitat biologist Bryan Helmich.

The money comes from the state waterfowl and upland game bird stamps that hunters buy each season. Fish and Game has done more than 350 habitat improvement projects in North Idaho in the past 10 years covering some 5,000 acres.

Statewide, Fish and Game has used $4 million of the money to do 3,000 habitat improvement projects on 45,000 acres of land.

The projects vary from building ponds to planting cover for pheasants.

Landowners often are reluctant to be identified because it causes an expectation of public access, Helmich said.

“The focus of the program is to create habitat to produce waterfowl and upland game birds,” Helmich said. “People benefit even if they don’t have direct access.”

Waterfowl move around a lot. “Birds that would be produced on ponds Mr. Everett chooses to create may be harvested in Nampa or Harrison,” Helmich said.

Because the Everetts asked for Fish and Game help, the department would help design the ponds and recommend vegetation for the shores, he said.