Warm Springs Creek- Phase 2

To see the beginning of this project visit my earlier post “Warm Springs Creek.” Over the winter we saw some consistent water flows and ice in the project area. The biologs worked as intended and when the channel was overfull we were able to create a small “flood plain” and still maintain the channel without sedimentation.

We waited for thaw to begin working again. Our goal was to create shade using woody plants to compete with an invasive grass that was threatening to take over the wetland and project. We used livestakes and large cottonwood “boles” which were harvested from a line clearance project because they would not be allowed to grow up under powerlines.

While our woody species establish and create a vegetated riparian zone, our next steps will be to work on the stream function. Due to very little elevation between bridge footings in the site we will need to dig out the accumulated sediment at the lower end of the project to get the water velocity we are hoping for to create better aquatic habitat. This project requires many work parties but we are making progress and habitat!