Lake Cascade (formerly Cascade Reservoir), is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. Located in the

Boise National Forest Boise National Forest is a National Forest covering of the U.S. state of Idaho. Created on July 1, 1908, from part of Sawtooth National Forest, it is managed by the U.S. Forest Service as five units: the Cascade, Emmett, Idaho City, Low ...

, it has a surface area of , and is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state. The closest cities are

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

Donnelly Donnelly is a surname of Irish origin. It is the anglicized form of the Gaelic ''Ó Donnghaile'' meaning ‘descendant of Donnghal’ a given name composed of the elements "donn" (dark or brown), plus "gal" (valour). O'Donnelly is derived from ...

, and

McCall McCall is a Gaelic surname, of Irish and Scottish origin. Notable people with this surname include: * Andy McCall (footballer, born 1911) (1911–1979), Scottish footballer and manager *Andy McCall (footballer, born 1925) (1925–2014), Scottish f ...

, all in the Long Valley of Valley County. Following a delay due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the earthen dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, completed in 1948. The term "Lake Cascade" came into common use in the 1990s, with the federal name change made in 1999.

Recreation

The lake contains perch,

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, smallmouth bass,

Kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not migrat ...

, and

Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

for anglers and there is a beautiful winter

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

season.

Lake Cascade State Park Lake Cascade State Park is a public recreation area consisting of multiple units totaling around Lake Cascade, an impoundment of the North Fork of the Payette River that covers in Valley County, Idaho, United States. The state park includes 2 ...

has several units around the lake.

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, such as

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

Pikeminnows Pikeminnows, formerly squawfish, are cyprinid fish of the genus ''Ptychocheilus'' consisting of four species native to western North America. Voracious predators, they are considered an "undesirable" species in many waters, largely due to the spe ...

are considered problematic to sport fishing in Lake Cascade because they are

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s 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 (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

, providing a steady stream for power, maintaining salmon flow augmentation, and other water rights. The

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

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 studying the drawdown citing "that the draining of Lake Cascade is not a viable option for sport fish restoration."

Water quality

The lake experienced a

bloom Bloom or blooming may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Bloom, one or more flowers on a flowering plant * Algal bloom, a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system * Jellyfish bloom, a collective n ...

of blue-green algae in 1993 caused by low water, high

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

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 Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

adopted in the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of the lake.

Tamarack Resort

Tamarack Resort Tamarack Resort is a four-season destination resort in the western United States. Located in west central Idaho in Valley County, it is miles north of Boise on the west shore of Lake Cascade, southwest of the small town of Donnelly. When it o ...

is located on the west shore of the reservoir, southwest of Donnelly.

References

External links

Idaho Fish and Game
— Cascade Reservoir
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
— Cascade Dam
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- major storage reservoirs in the Boise & Payette River basins - current levels & flows
Pictures of Cascade
– Cascade Dam spillway – June 2006 {{authority control

Buildings and structures in Valley County, Idaho

Protected areas of Valley County, Idaho Boise National Forest United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1948