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Lake Cascade (or originally "Cascade Reservoir") is located on the North Fork of the Payette River
Payette River

The Payette River is a river in southwestern Idaho, and is a major tributary of the Snake River.Its headwaters originate in the Sawtooth Range and Salmon River mountains at elevations over 10,000 feet ....
 in Valley County
Valley County, Idaho

Valley County is a rural county located in west central Idaho in the United States. Established in 1917, it was named after the Long Valley of the North Fork of the Payette River, which extends over 30 miles from Payette at McCall, Idaho south to Cascade, Idaho to Round Valley....
, Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
, USA, in the Boise National Forest
Boise National Forest

The Boise National Forest is a US national forest located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. It is about 2,612,000 acres in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet ....
. It is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state. The closest cities are Cascade
Cascade, Idaho

Cascade is a rural city in and the county seat of Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States, in the west central part of the state. It sits at an elevation of 4780 feet , along the North Fork of the Payette River....
, Donnelly
Donnelly, Idaho

Donnelly is a city in rural Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States. The population was 138 at the 2000 United States Census.Donnelly is on the east shore of Lake Cascade between the two major cities in the county....
, and McCall
McCall, Idaho

McCall is a resort city in Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States. Named after its founder, Tom McCall, it is situated on the southern shore of Payette Lake and near the center of the Payette National Forest....
.

Following a delay due to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the earthen dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation is an agency under the United States Department of the Interior and oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and/or operation of numerous water diversion, delivery, and storage and hydroelectric power generation projects it built throughout the western United States....
, and completed in 1948.

lake contains perch, trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
, Smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States an...
, Kokanee
Kokanee

Kokanee may refer to:* Kokanee beer* Land-locked lake populations of Sockeye salmon ...
, and Coho salmon
Coho salmon

The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family . Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers"....
 for anglers and there is a winter ice fishing
Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the activity of fishing with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities....
 beautiful season.

003 the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) proposed draining Lake Cascade to facilitate the removal of pikeminnow and the addition of sport fish
Game fish

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations....
, such as perch
Perch

Perca is the genus of fish referred to as perch or, sometimes, yellow perch, a group of freshwater fish belonging to the family Percidae....
.






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Encyclopedia


Lake Cascade (or originally "Cascade Reservoir") is located on the North Fork of the Payette River
Payette River

The Payette River is a river in southwestern Idaho, and is a major tributary of the Snake River.Its headwaters originate in the Sawtooth Range and Salmon River mountains at elevations over 10,000 feet ....
 in Valley County
Valley County, Idaho

Valley County is a rural county located in west central Idaho in the United States. Established in 1917, it was named after the Long Valley of the North Fork of the Payette River, which extends over 30 miles from Payette at McCall, Idaho south to Cascade, Idaho to Round Valley....
, Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
, USA, in the Boise National Forest
Boise National Forest

The Boise National Forest is a US national forest located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. It is about 2,612,000 acres in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet ....
. It is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state. The closest cities are Cascade
Cascade, Idaho

Cascade is a rural city in and the county seat of Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States, in the west central part of the state. It sits at an elevation of 4780 feet , along the North Fork of the Payette River....
, Donnelly
Donnelly, Idaho

Donnelly is a city in rural Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States. The population was 138 at the 2000 United States Census.Donnelly is on the east shore of Lake Cascade between the two major cities in the county....
, and McCall
McCall, Idaho

McCall is a resort city in Valley County, Idaho, Idaho, United States. Named after its founder, Tom McCall, it is situated on the southern shore of Payette Lake and near the center of the Payette National Forest....
.

Following a delay due to World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the earthen dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation is an agency under the United States Department of the Interior and oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and/or operation of numerous water diversion, delivery, and storage and hydroelectric power generation projects it built throughout the western United States....
, and completed in 1948.

Recreation

The lake contains perch, trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
, Smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States an...
, Kokanee
Kokanee

Kokanee may refer to:* Kokanee beer* Land-locked lake populations of Sockeye salmon ...
, and Coho salmon
Coho salmon

The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family . Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers"....
 for anglers and there is a winter ice fishing
Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the activity of fishing with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities....
 beautiful season.

Sport fish restoration

In 2003 the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) proposed draining Lake Cascade to facilitate the removal of pikeminnow and the addition of sport fish
Game fish

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations....
, such as perch
Perch

Perca is the genus of fish referred to as perch or, sometimes, yellow perch, a group of freshwater fish belonging to the family Percidae....
. Pikeminnows
Ptychocheilus

Squawfish or pikeminnows are cyprinid fish of the genus Ptychocheilus consisting of four species native to western North America....
 are a problem in Lake Cascade because they are predators that live up to 15 years and compete for food stocks. Issues involved in mitigating damage during the lowering of the lake level include maintaining an adequate supply for irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
, providing a steady stream for power
Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water....
, maintaining salmon flow augmentation, and other water right
Water right

Water Right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious....
s. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manages the reservoir and estimated the draining could take place over the course of a year at a cost of $100,000 to $300,000. The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation withdrew its application for an Environmental Impact Statement
Environmental impact statement

An environmental impact statement under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for federal government of the United States government agency actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." A tool for decision making, an EIS describes the positive and negative E...
 studying the drawdown
Drawdown (hydrology)

In water-related science and engineering there are two similar but distinct definitions in use for drawdown.*In subsurface hydrogeology, drawdown is the change in hydraulic head observed at a water well in an aquifer, typically due to pumping a well as part of an aquifer test or well test....
 citing "that the draining of Lake Cascade is not a viable option for sport fish restoration."

Water quality

The lake experienced a bloom
Algal bloom

An algal bloom is a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments....
 of blue-green algae in 1993 caused by low water, high phosphorus
Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. The name comes from the and . A Valency nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate minerals....
 content, and hot weather. Studies of water quality found phosphorus to be present in high levels which contributed to the algal bloom. Beginning in 1995, the water quality was monitored and an improvement plan was implemented to lower the phosphorus by 37 percent. By 2003 the lake had 57 percent less phosphorus than the initial monitoring in 1995 due to the best management practices adopted in the drainage basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 of the lake.

External links

  • - Cascade Reservoir
  • - Cascade Dam