Braided Reach Cross-Section Monitoring Surveys, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2011

In 2009, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho released and implemented the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Master Plan. This plan aimed to restore, enhance, and maintain the Kootenai River habitat and landscape to support and sustain habitat conditions for aquatic species and animal populations. In support of these restoration efforts, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, conducted high-resolution multibeam echosounder bathymetric surveys in May, June, and July 2011, as a baseline bathymetric monitoring survey on the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Three channel patterns or reaches exist in the study area—braided, meander, and a transitional zone connecting the braided and meander reaches. Bathymetric data were collected at three study areas in 2011 to provide: (1) surveys in unmapped portions of the meander reach; (2) monitoring of the presence and extent of sand along planned lines within a section of the meander reach; and (3) monitoring aggradation and degradation of the channel bed at specific cross sections within the braided reach and transitional zone. The bathymetric data will be used to update and verify flow models, calibrate and verify sediment transport modeling efforts, and aid in the biological assessment in support of the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Master Plan. The data and planned lines for each study reach were produced in ASCII XYZ format supported by most geospatial software.