Stantec and Wildland Hydrology chosen for river studies

A selection committee chose two firms to conduct river studies of the North Platte River running through Saratoga.

The seven-member committee consisting of community members and town officials met Thursday to announce Stantec and Wildland Hydrology would study the river running through the town of Saratoga.

The study, when completed, will provide information to aid in a possible re-channelization project and two proposed construction projects on banks near Veterans Island, said Public Works Director and town engineer Chuck Bartlett.

The selection committee will meet with both firms 2 p.m. Friday in the Saratoga Town Council Chambers.

The meeting is one of many where Saratoga residents can learn about the study. In later meetings, community members will be able to ask questions, Bartlett said.

“There are going to be questions that do come up,” Bartlett said. “We are going to have to find answers to them.”

One question that may present itself is the environmental impacts proposed projects may have.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), there should be no negative impacts on wildlife or the surrounding environment.

“There should not be any negative impacts,” said FEMA environmental specialist Daniel Jones. “We work with these different agencies to minimize those impacts.”

Before FEMA allows a project, they are responsible for determining if it will negatively impact the environment, Jones said. FEMA works with agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Wyoming Game and Fish to determine a project’s environmental impact.

During this process, Wyoming Game and Fish requested the projects be completed between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15 and April 1 and May 15 as not to interfere with spawning, Jones said.

“That will be a condition for this project,” he said.

If the studies and projects are completed as proposed, they may actually benefit wildlife living in the river, said Christina Barrineau, an aquatic habitat biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish.

“It can just bring a whole lot of positive for the aquatic environment,” she said.

River studies could lead to beneficial construction that could make river channels deeper, making better habitat for rainbow and brown trout.

“It will create some cover for the fish,” Barrineau said. The deeper channels are important for the fish in the North Platte River because it protects them from drying heat and predators.

If the town uses bio engineering in the projects, a system which utilizes natural materials for construction, wildlife could benefit even more, Barrineau said.

“With the bio engineering, you are going to be able to get the wildlife back in there,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett hopes to use bio engineering for the entire project, but thinks some areas of the river may need more conventional methods of repair, he said.

All proposed construction projects do not seem to pose a threat to the surrounding environment, but Bartlett said he is concerned about the actual construction.

During the actual construction, mud and dirt will drift into the river, which may present a problem for DEQ, Bartlett said. The turbidity, or muddiness, of the water cannot be higher than a certain point, according to DEQ standards, Bartlett said.

The first phase of the project, which is studying the river, can begin in the spring of this year, if the river banks are full, Bartlett said. If the banks are not full, construction may be delayed one year.