c. restoring maintaining wooded riparian...

18 C. Restoring & Maintaining Wooded Riparian Areas

Jon A. SouderForest Watershed Extension Specialist

Brad Withrow‐RobinsonForestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent

Benton, Linn, & Polk Counties

Getting To Know Each Other1. Restoring Riparian Areas on Own Property?

• Aesthetic Reasons

• Wildlife Habitat

• Bank Stability

2. Adjacent Land Use?

• Forestry

• Agriculture

• Rural Residential

Restoring & Maintaining Wooded Riparian Areas

Course Objective

1. Understand key challenges & steps in riparian restoration;

2. How to be a good partner in riparian restoration projects.

Organization1.Planning for project success.

2.Design to meet your needs & the site’s capability.

3.Implementation guidance to “Git‐R‐Done”.

Planning for Success


Scale: Reach → Stream → Watershed

Landowner Partners (Funders/Agencies)

Goal: Restore Riparian FunctionsEcological: Stream (aquatic) & Upland (terrestrial)

Aesthetic: Natural (messy) & Park‐like (orderly)

Economic: Bank Protection & Mitigation

Planning: Project Constraints


Bio‐physical: Landform & Soils/Flooding Plants

Rosgen, D.L. (2007). In Part 654 Stream Restoration Design National Engineering Handbook (210‐VI‐NEH), J. Bernard, J.F. Fripp & K.R. Robinson (Eds.). USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, D.C.


Bottomlands (Major)

Soils: Tend to be coarse, very well drained, sandy soils.

Conditions: Frequent disturbances, floods, drought.

Planning: Landforms, Soils, and Moisture Bottomlands (Small)

Soils: Typically heavy, clayey, poorly drained.

Conditions: Flooding, standing water.

Uplands Higher Gradient

Soils: Stony, silt, clay; somewhat poor to well drained.

Conditions: Side slopes, high soil moisture, potential erosion.



Sociological: Neighbors & Neighborhood

1. Shading your neighbor’s field or yard.

2. Cutting off neighbor’s views.

3. Reducing sightlines around road curves.

https://nac.unl.edu/images/practices/riparianforestbuffers2.jpg



Regulatory:

1. Powerline Easements.

2. County Riparian Ordinances.

3. Fill:Removal Permits (DSL; CoE).

king5.com/photo/2016/11/02/KING_wetland_utility_pole_1478141415290_6709829_ver1.0.JPG

Planning: Implementation Considerations


1. Do It Yourself (limited acreage)

2. Contract It (funding needed)

3. Volunteers (management needed)

Planning Q & A


Species Selection: “Right Plants for Right Site”

SpeciesTolerance To:

Flooding Drought ShadeBigleaf Maple Medium Medium HighBlack Cottonwood High Low LowGrand Fir Medium Medium HighOregon Ash High Medium Medium to HighOregon White Oak High to Medium High LowPonderosa Pine Medium High LowWhite Alder High Low to Medium LowRed Alder High Low LowWestern Redcedar High Low High


Design: Locally‐Adapted Planting Stock

http://wvcoop.nativeseednetwork.org/

Why Is This Critical:1. Locally‐adapted plants have a greater likelihood

of success in your riparian project.2. Match elevation, moisture regime, and genetics.

What Needs To Be Accomplished:1. Select desired species and planting stock types.

2. Identify sources of supply, either cuttings or nursery stock.


Design: Planting Stock TypesBareroot

http://www.gardeners.com/how‐to/planting‐bare‐root/8764.html

Cuttings

http://soundnativeplants.com/nursery/live‐stakes‐and‐cuttings/

Plugs

Sound Native Plants

Container

Sound Native Plants


Design: Obtaining Planting StockPurchase From NurseryGrow/Collect Your Own

http://wildhorseriverworks.com/publications/lci.pdf

Considerations:Missouri Botanical Garden ss00313ra.jpg Sound Native Plants

• Availability • Transport • Capacity• Cost • Sanitation • Effort


Design: Planting Density, Arrangement, SequenceDensity Considerations:1. Cost of Plants

2. Ability to Capture Site

3. Future Maintenance Needs

Arrangement & Sequence Choices:1. Clumped by Species vs. Random

2. Inter‐ & Intra‐Species Competition

3. “All Species At Once” vs. Succession

Spacing: 4’ x 4’ = 2,723 tpa6’ x 6’ = 1,210 tpa8’ x 8’ = 681 tpa

12’ x 12’ = 303 tpaDesign Q & A

Implementation


Stages:

1. Site Preparation

2. Handling & Planting Seedlings and Cut Stock

3. Post‐planting Maintenance

4. Management Monitoring


Why Is This Critical:

1. Creates Conditions For Success.

2. Reduces Maintenance Needs.

What Needs To Be Accomplished:

1. Remove Competing Vegetation.

2. May Want To Recontour Slope.

Implementation: Site Preparation


Implementation: Problematic Weed SpeciesKnotweeds(Japanese, Giant, Himalayan)

English Ivy

Himalayan Blackberry

Field Bindweed

Morishita et al. 2005.

Reed Canary Grass

minnesotaseasons.com/Plants/Large/R/reed_canary_grass_02.jpg

Policeman’s Helmet


Implementation: Handling Planting StockWhy Is This Critical:1. You Can Kill Plants Before They

Go Into Ground!2. Bare Root Stock Particularly

Sensitive.

What Needs To Be Accomplished:1. Keep Seedlings Moist, Cool,

Shaded. 2. Don’t Over Pack.

Scianna et al. 2005.

Tilley & St. John 2012..


Implementation: Planting PracticesWhy Is This Critical:

1. This Starts Their Growth!

2. Plants Start Healthy, Then Die


1. Be Observant & Follow Guides.

2. Live Stakes Need More Than Just Sticking in Ground.


Implementation: Post‐planting MaintenanceWhy Is This Critical:

• Protects Your Investment

• Improves Growth & Diversity


• Avoid Damaging Plantings!

• Frequency Determined By Conditions


Implementation: Protection From Weed Competition

Scalp Weed Mat / Mulch

Weed Eat / Mow

Spray


Implementation: Protecting From Animal DamageVexar Tree Tubes

Printing Plates Chicken Wire Wire Cages

pri.org/stories/2016‐06‐03/vancouvers‐former‐olympic‐village‐now‐home‐urban‐beavers

Aluminum Foil Exclosures


Implementation: Management Monitoring

• Early Detection of Problems

• Attainment of Objectives

Why Is This Critical:


• Walk Throughs or Plots

• Frequency Declines Over Time

Additional Resources:


1. “A Guide to Riparian Tree and Shrub Planting in the Willamette Valley: Steps to Success” (2011) https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9040

2. “Managing Himalayan Blackberry in Western Oregon Riparian Areas” (2006) https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em8894

3. “Coastal Oregon Riparian Silviculture Guide” (2003) https://www.oregon.gov/OWEB/docs/pubs/riparianmonitoringguide.pdf

4. “Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards” (2013)http://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/native_plants_for_willamette_valley_yards_booklet.pdf

Technical Assistance:


1. Soil & Water Conservation Districts

2. Watershed Councils

3. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

4. Oregon State University Extension

Key Take Home Messages


1. Project Has To Accommodate Site Characteristics.

2. Look Up! Look Down! Look Around! For Constraints.

3. Early Investment in Site Preparation Is Worthwhile.

4. Planting Is Easy Compared To Maintaining Them Until You’ve Met Your Objectives!

!!! Tough Challenges But Success Is Possible !!!


Rogers Creek CREP Hendrickson CreekS.F. Coos River CREP

Implementation Q & A

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