Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Basalt blocks are moved into place by a crew from Palouse River Rock in October.
Union Flat Creek seen from above as it flows past the man-made pond in south Whitman County.
One of five root wad structures is anchored to the stream bed to help stave off erosion of the new pond bank.
The Gilchrist fishing pond spot south of Colfax has been reinforced by a Whitman Conservation District project after decades of erosion.
The pond, created by the Gilchrist family which owns the land, was built in 1947 by the late Demoine Gilchrist and is stocked with fish each year.
Union Flat Creek runs along the south side.
In 2016, a four-foot hole in the pond bank gave way and the water level dropped by three feet. The Gilchrists then called the conservation district in Colfax.
"Landowners that have the land don't necessarily have the financial means to protect the land," said Brian Bell, Whitman Conservation District manager.
The district, a non-regulatory, strictly voluntary program, went out to take a look.
Soon a study began and grant applications were sent to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state Department of Ecology and the Washington Conservation Commission – the latter of which announced a grant of $50,000 on July 1 of this year.
In late September, a crew began 10 days of heavy construction, including conservation district staff and a contracted three-man crew from Palouse River Rock. They built a 160-foot wall out of columnar basalt blocks to protect the bank from high-flow water velocity – including bank deflectors extending into the creek and tree root wad structures anchored to the stream bed.
"It's an engineered project and things went along as planned," said Justin Morgan, co-owner of Palouse River Rock.
Each element put in place helps to protect the bank from further wear. The non-landscape grade basalt blocks came from a pit in Winona.
"It wasn't an overnight fix. Lots of man hours by lots of people," said Penny Gilchrist, who lives in the house just up the hill from the pond with husband Jerry. "It was beautifully done. Now it can be for kids and grown-ups to come fish again."
Originally, the pond was more remote, built just for wildlife on the land before Union Flat Road was extended in 1968. When Jerry and Penny built their house in 1974, they opened the pond for fishing.
An annual 4H/Whitman County Parks kids' fishing day was held at the spot each June from 2004-14. It was discontinued for safety and other reasons.
"You can't have 300 little kids out here and not have a safe pond," said Gilchrist of the need for the bank work.
The conservation district also placed more than a hundred tree seedlings in cracks of the basalt block wall, which will grow to create habitat and shade.
"Overall habitat complexity is the word," said Bell.
The five root wad structures were bought from an Idaho logging operation for a total of $5,000, including transportation.
What would have happened if this project was not done?
"The pond would've been breached," Bell said. "It could've been last winter."
Breaching of the pond means the bank wall between it and the creek gives way, emptying the pond into the next field.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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