13. Goose Creek

Land Manager: BLM, Burley Field Office/State of Idaho
Legal Location: T 15S R 22E Section 31/T 16S R21E Section 13 Cassia County
Allotment: #4104 Baker (Figure 2) and #4103 Shoulder "3" Inc. (Figure 1)

Dominant Plant Community Type: Shrub-Grass/Shrub-Juniper

Impacts: Cumulative impacts from livestock utilization have severely impacted the location shown in Figure 1. Utilization impacts have led to removal of the riparian structure; severe erosion and lowering of the water table have resulted. Fisheries and wildlife values at this site have been seriously impacted.

Figure 2 is downstream from Figure 1 by approximately 2 miles. Riparian values along the river on this state land have been protected from livestock utilization by the permittee (Double Diamond Ranch) in a joint project with the BLM and Idaho Department of Fish and Game. After more than 7 years of protection, riparian recovery is well underway at this location. At the time of this survey, this site and adjoining riparian habitat privately owned and protected by the same permittee are the only portions of lower Goose Creek protected from livestock utilization within the state of Idaho.

Recommendations: It is recommended that livestock be withdrawn from the remaining public portions of Goose Creek. These sites should be allowed to recover and develop into suitable wildlife and fish habitat. Erosion control measures should be instituted where possible to begin a reversal of present conditions. Wildlife and fisheries values currently lost to the degraded condition of this river should make any possible efforts on both public and private lands a high priority. Significant recovery of this creek will require much more than the minimum of 3-6 years for riparian recovery and bank stabilization.

                    1. Severe utilization impacts; erosion of riverbanks, loss of riparian Species and greenline.

                    2. Protected stretch of same river after 7 years of livestock withdrawal.