Pocatello to restore a local park’s wetlands and move forward with the Portneuf River Vision

POCATELLO — A sizable grant is allowing the city of Pocatello to move forward on a long-planned restoration project.

The city of Pocatello received $1.6 million from the WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources program to fund the restoration of Rainey Park and create wetlands in the area.

“We are super excited to begin moving forward on this project which will give the community great access to the Portneuf River in town,” said Hannah Sanger, science and environment administrator for the city of Pocatello.

In addition to the grant, the city will contribute matching funds, bringing the total cost of the project to $2,219,448.

This restoration is one of the major projects in a long-term plan to revitalize the Portneuf River and the surrounding community.

In 2016, the city of Pocatello completed an ambitious plan called the Portneuf River Vision. Essentially, the project aims to link river restoration with community development.

Included in the plans are a number of projects like the reconfiguration of the Benton Street Overpass and turning Raymond Park into an amphitheater, as well as the revitalization of Centennial and Rainey Parks.

“We’ve been working over the past several years to complete designs for several top priority projects, and to finally get some funding to help bring it into the construction phase was a huge achievement,” said Christine Howe, grants manager in the Planning and Development Services Department.

Construction on Rainey Park is expected to begin in July 2025 and be completed by May 2026. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking over the city’s plans to make sure flood control is maintained.

The restoration will be accomplished by moving the levy from where it currently is, on the east bank of the Portneuf River in Rainey Park. When the levy was originally constructed in 1968 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it did away with the natural wetlands that came from the river.

This project will deconstruct the levy, move it eastward and then reconstruct it next to the existing baseball fields. A wetland and streamside channel will be added, bringing back the natural wetlands of the area.

The reconstructed levy will also provide an ADA-accessible access point for anglers and people who want to float the river. Landscaping work will also be done to the greenway path so people can walk along the river as the wetland returns.

To deal with increasing water levels, a stormwater pond will be dug out to capture the first sediment-filled flood waters.

“The wetlands will provide needed habitat for fish, amphibians and birds,” Sanger said. “They’ll also help clean the river.”

This is the first phase in a larger project on Rainey Park and Centennial Park. The city has a pending grant that would infuse another $3 million into the project area.

Phase two of the project will be improvements to the parking lot and tree planting throughout the area. The third phase will be adding an amphitheater, pavilions and picnic tables to Centennial Park as well as parking improvements.

Rainey and Centennial Park will most likely be the first of the major projects in the Portneuf River Vision to be completed.

The city of Pocatello has already completed work that had funding. Eight river access points have been installed and debris jams like fallen logs have been removed from the river to make it more floatable.

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The city has also been removing invasive black willow trees from the banks of the river, replacing them with native cottonwoods. Crews have already removed all of the black willow trees at City Creek, and have plans to remove the rest along the river.

Sanger and her team at the city have been applying for more grants to fund the rest of the projects in the Portneuf River Vision. They are also speaking to potential donors who could fund projects.

Sanger said that while there’s still much work to be done, she’s happy that they’ve seen an increased use of the river. She’s also excited for all that’s to come from the Portneuf River Vision.

“(The vision is) going to really change the nature of our downtown over time as these vision elements are installed and the river becomes a vibrant part of our community,” Sanger said.