America’s people, economy and wildlife rely on healthy lands and waters. Restoring ecosystems can slow climate change and bring back lost biodiversity. Building long-lasting, sustainable partnerships is key in ecosystem restoration. Cougar Bay Wetlands is a model for such partnerships. The BLM Idaho Coeur d’Alene Field Office is working with partners such as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, LKE, Ducks Unlimited, USDA Forest Service, Nature Conservancy and the Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Partnership to restore these wetlands, which were severely degraded as a result of decades of agricultural use and highway impacts. Stream channelization, ditching, and draining altered the hydrology and reduced the wetland to a monoculture of invasive reed canary grass. After years of work, and the partners working together, the preserve is now a popular area for hiking and bird-watching. The Nature Conservancy reports 34 rare animal species and 27 bird species known to use this site. As you tour this area, you will learn the step by step process and significant progress made in the ecological and recreational value of this wetland and its future goals.
