Crooked river valley restoration

USFS, Region 1, Red River Ranger District - Elk City, ID
Crooked River was diverted out of its historic channel during past placer mining operations, resulting in negative impacts to the floodplain and riparian environment. Restoration efforts were needed to restore natural hydrologic, ecologic, aquatic, and wildlife functions. Following realignment of the channel and construction of the floodplain, Watershed Restoration Group was contracted to revegetate the restored areas. We were awarded this contract largely due to our submitted technical proposal detailing how we would efficiently accomplish a quality project implementation in an aggressive timeframe, while considering project constraints.

The project was remote, had complex coordination logistics, and especially challenging cobbly substrate. Detailed planning, with contingencies, was essential. We orchestrated delivery and received 22 semi loads of plants - 12,000 DeepPot 1 - 8 gallon trees and shrubs and maintained an on-site holding nursery. We distributed the large volume of plant material throughout the 60-acre site covered in large woody debris, appropriately placed with consideration to the multi-faceted planting plan, client goals, hydrologic niches, micro-siting, and the mimicking of natural plant communities. We augered planting holes, and trench-planted 5000 linear feet along the channel. Given the difficult nature of the substrate, we established innovative methods for the installation of the large-container 5 and 8 gallon DeepPot plant material. All plants were thoroughly watered after installation. Efficient sequencing and teamwork were essential to timely completion of the project.

We worked closely with the construction contractor for portions of our work to occur simultaneously. We established candid and detailed communication with project representatives, and provided our field-fitting expertise for agreed upon discrepancies in and changes to the revegetation plan.