Meadow Complex near Hudlow Junction to close for restoration

COEUR d'ALENE — The Idaho Panhandle National Forests announced Friday that they will begin restoring the grassland complex near Hudlow Junction, along the Little North Fork Coeur d'Alene River, this summer.

An ordinance banning camping and hiking on the meadow is set to go into effect July 8. Restoration work planned through fall 2025 will aim to improve habitat conditions for westslope cutthroat trout.

Activities will include placing large timber in stream channels to provide cover for fish and encourage pond habitat formation, modifying channels to ensure high spring flows can spill onto adjacent floodplains, and flooding historic side channels and low-lying areas to mimic beaver activity, according to a news release.

“The meadow has become popular with RVs and off-road vehicles, which is unsustainable in the long term in terms of resource damage,” said Coeur d'Alene River District Ranger Holly Hampton. “One of the results of the restoration work is that the meadow will be inaccessible to vehicles, bringing the site into compliance with its non-motorized zone designation. »

Weed treatments will take place to facilitate the replanting of meadows with riparian plant species such as poplar, willow and giant cedar.

Crews and heavy equipment will begin dropping off equipment on the prairie in 2024, followed by ice jam construction, excavation work and installation of beaver dam analogs in 2025, the release said.

Hudlow Meadow has become a popular spot for RV camping, as well as ATV and dirt bike riding, uses that are illegal under Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations 261.13, which states that motor vehicle use is permitted only where indicated by a motor vehicle use card.

Although the current MVUM designates Highway 209 adjacent to the meadow as open to all vehicles with dispersed camping permitted on both sides of the road, the meadow complex is more than 300 feet from the road, where motor vehicle use is prohibited, the release states.