The Big Wood River is located in central Idaho, near Sun Valley. Learn more about how anglers and river enthusiasts are dedicated to restoring the Big Wood River to a world-class trout fishery.
We believe in making small steps for the long run. The little things that we do will add up over time. And while we are deeply grateful for large organizations who can take on huge projects, we have a deep appreciation for passionate individuals who start small. They protect their fish. Their fishery. Project Big Wood is exactly that. A few Idaho natives deciding their home water is too unique to stand by and watch decline, stepping in, and preserving it.
- Amanda Bauman, Executive Director - Project Big Wood
Project Big Wood is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on restoring and preserving the Big Wood River in Idaho. They work through restoration, education, and data-driven conservation efforts to improve the river's health and sustain its fish populations. The project collaborates with local partners to supportrestoration and ensure the river’s sustainability, particularly focusing on native trout populations as indicators of overall health. Through advocacy, science, and local pride, Project Big Wood aims to restore this vital community resource.
Project Big Wood recently teamed up with The Salmonfly Project in an effort to monitor the health of the Big Wood River. The Salmonfly Project is an organization that works to conserve aquatic insects in Western U.S. rivers. They research insect population health, study environmental impacts, monitor ecosystems, and engage citizen scientists to track insect populations. This conservation effort seeks to protect freshwater biodiversity and support the ecosystems reliant on these insects, including fish and birds. The organization also collaborates with local stakeholders, conservationists, and educational efforts to prevent further insect declines.
“The macroinvertebrate study is an essential piece of Project Big Wood's Habitat Monitoring Program.” says Project Big Wood Executive Director Amanda Bauman. “By understanding trends in aquatic insects, water temps, nutrients, fine sediment, and other stressors, we can begin to track the health of the Bigwood River and treat the root cause of issues in our watershed.”
The Salmonfly Project’s Executive Director, Jackson Burrell, had this to say “We work with lot of other organizations, nonprofit’s, and government agencies to help integrate this new data about aquatic insect trends, and drivers of decline into actual management and restoration. We’re here working with Project Big Wood to implement a new monitoring program focused on understanding the trends of aquatic insects over time as well as trends of water temperature, nutrients, fine sediment and other stressors that can potentially impact the health of aquatic insects and also our fish.”
“There’s a lot new development and a lot of new disturbances happening within this watershed, and we want to make sure that we have the data to speak to any kind of declines or degradations of the ecosystem so we can keep on things and make sure the habitat, the fishing and the resource doesn’t decline in quality.”
"The Big Wood River is really special to me. Being an Idaho native, I love to share it."
- Amanda Bauman, Executive Director - Project Big Wood
Loon Outdoors joined Project Big Wood and The Salmonfly Project to document their data collection initiative, and we were inspired by the teamwork that goes into a project like this. Project Big Wood Executive Director Amanda Bauman and The Salmonfly Project Executive Director Jackson Burrell were joined by Project Big Wood’s Jean-Marie Bousquet (Communications and Programs) and Rio Pederson (Director of Operations) as they all pitched in to collect data on insects, water temperature, and much more. It was refreshing for local anglers who stumbled upon the operation to see a local organization working hard to help preserve this special place.
To stay updated and support the Big Wood River, visit projectbigwood.org and to learn more about the Salmon Fly Project's work across the west, visit salmonflyproject.org.
