History of Carey Lake WMA
History
Cultural History
Before Anglo-European settlement, Carey Lake WMA was a gathering area and summer hunting grounds for the Native Americans of the middle Snake River region. Bannock, Shoshoni, and Northern Paiute family bands were the most common tribes using the area in the spring, summer, and fall. During the harsh winters, the Tribes moved south to the Snake River area (Statham 1982).
In 1820, Donald Mackenzie, a Northwest Company fur trader, was the first recorded white man to explore the Carey area (USDA 1981). He passed through while returning from a trapping expedition in the Lost River area. Trappers subsequently used this as a travel route between Fort Hall and Fort Boise (USDA 1981).
The first farming community in the area was established along Spring Creek near Carey in 1879 (USDA 1981). The population of the early farming communities fluctuated with the boom and decline of the mining industry in the nearby Wood River Valley. Also contributing to the instability of the agricultural communities was the cool climate, which limited the number of suitable crops (USDA 1981).
Initial acquisition of Carey Lake WMA by Idaho Fish and Game in 1949 was from Carey Lake Reservoir Company, after the company failed to make Carey Lake into an irrigation reservoir. The Company was unable to store the desired amount of water due to water loss through the lava faults on the south and east sides of the lake. The remaining land in Carey Lake WMA was acquired from several sources between 1951 and 1957.
Physical Features
Carey Lake WMA is located in south-central Idaho, at an elevation of 4,763 feet, on the northern border of the Snake River Plain. The Carey Lake WMA is a shallow natural basin formed when lava flows 3,000-4,000 years ago blocked the natural outlet of Fish Creek (USDA 1981). As the basin filled, the water found a new outlet around the lava at a slightly higher elevation leaving the flooded basin. A control structure was built at this outlet to increase the capacity of the lake but the porosity of the lava along eastern and southern edges prevented the lake from ever reaching depths of more than about three feet. Carey Lake has a surface area of about 700 acres at high water.
Climate
Carey Lake WMA has moderately severe winters with temperatures as low as -35°F and snow depths ranging from 10 to 24 inches (USDA 1981). The lake usually freezes over in mid- November. Summers are moderately hot and dry with temperatures often reaching 95°F. The growing season averages about 110 days. Annual precipitation varies from nine to 13 inches with less than half falling during the growing season (USDA 1981).
Soils
The Carey Lake WMA soils are segregated into five categories established by the NRCS (USDA 1981). Four of the soil types are characterized by clay loam, silty clay loam, and/or sand loam to a depth of 38 to 47 inches (USDA 1981). Below this depth, sand loam, gravelly sand, and/or course sand is prevalent. Loam and gravelly loam are the major soil types found above water on the WMA. These soils are 90% Class III and IV land that is suited for cultivation. The fifth soil type is composed of lava flows from the Cinderhurst complex and is in Class VI that is unsuited for cultivation (USDA 1981).
Geology
The mountains to the north are composed of granitic igneous rocks of the Cretaceous Age, Idaho Batholith, and Challis Volcanics of the Eocene Age (USDA 1981). From these mountains, alluvial fan terraces were deposited as proglacial outwash. These alluvium soils are well developed and well drained. On the outer reaches of these alluvial fans, the soils become progressively finer and heavier in clay. It was near this point where the fan underlying Carey Lake Basin was covered with the Cinderhurst lava complex 3,000 to 4,000 years ago (USDA 1981).
Hydrology
Carey Lake has a surface area of approximately 530 acres at high water. There are 30 acres of water 15 to 18 feet deep and 20 acres of five to six feet deep water in the excavated channels. The remainder of the lake varies from one to three feet. There are six water sources supplying Carey Lake WMA. Four with water rights: decreed water, storage water, canal stock, and spring run-off from Little Wood River. There are two additional sources; a hot spring located in the northeast section of the management area and overflow from Fish Creek Reservoir. The spring keeps one to two acres of the lake from completely freezing in the winter. The overflow of Fish Creek Reservoir runs through Fish Creek until it meets the lavas and gradually moves west filling the many pockets, holes, and a small lake in the lavas. If enough water overflows from the reservoir, it eventually reaches Carey Lake.
Fish Creek Reservoir was created in 1923 with the construction of a dam 92 feet high by 1,700 feet wide. The dam has been weakened by 90 years of constant exposure to the harsh and unyielding elements. Countless freeze-and-thaw events have steadily deteriorated the structure’s concrete construction. In 2005, Department of Water Resources officials ordered the Fish Creek Reservoir Company to cut a larger spillway in one side of the multiple-arch dam to keep the maximum water level in the reservoir from rising too high. This new spillway reduced the storage capacity of the reservoir by almost two thirds. This change in the reservoir’s holding capacity will have an effect on the amount of water reaching Carey Lake. There is speculation that the dam may be breached entirely. If this were to occur, the amount of water reaching Carey Lake would increase significantly.