Crew repurposes cedar trees to restore trout habitat
Photo: Corps members Bethany Dahl, Drew Wilwert, Jennie LaRoche, Travis Wilder and Joe McCarthy with Rich Stemper of the Root River SWCD stand on the banks of Riceford Creek in Spring Grove, which they stabilized using tree revetments.
After
June flooding carved out the banks of Riceford Creek in southeast Minnesota and
deposited an excessive amount of sediment, the Root River SWCD partnered
with the Nature Conservancy and
Conservation Corps to stabilize the banks of the creek with a natural resource:
cedar trees. The cedars were cleared from nearby bluffs that have become
overrun, and laid along the shoreline to create a barrier that captures
sediment. A regrowth of vegetation should eventually build up the banks and
narrow the creek. Corps members waded into the creek and attached the trees to
the banks with steel cables. The cedar barriers, called tree revetments, are a
cost-effective and natural way to stabilize the creek and improve its trout
habitat, which thrives on the more vigorous flow of a narrower creek. Rich
Stemper of the Root River SWCD praised the crew for their excellent work and
great attitude while working in some extremely hot weather during four weeks of
the summer and early fall.
Read
press coverage about the project: MPR,
Spring
Grove Herald and Calendonia
Argus.