Restoration on your Waterways

By Nayeli Lozano:

On November 15th, 2019, Restoration Ecology spent the day learning from experts about the different restoration sites based on helping Salmonid communities found throughout our waterways.

Restoration Ecology had the opportunity to learn from experts Sara, Eric, Erik, Teddy, and Preston. We learned about the four H’s and how they apply to the sites, Salmonid numbers that were found, the various planning that goes into such sites and their differences amongst them.

The Four H’s

1. Harvest – This is not an issue as fishing in the area is illegal.
2. Hatcheries – This is not an issue because fisheries are not being pushed out into the sites.
3. Hydro – This does apply to the sites as it cuts off migration which is important in the life cycles of the Salomind.
4. Habitat – This does apply due to heavy logging which then causes erosion as well as in sizing of the channels.

Although these are the classic four H’s Sara mentioned that she would add a few including Climate Change and Grazing. Although these are not H’s they do have an affect on the sites. Climate Change will have an impact on the Salmonid communities due the temperature change of the waterways. Lastly, if grazing is not managed in an appropriate manner grazing would cause trampling of important vegetation as well as causing soil to become compacted.

Salmonid Numbers and Restoration Sites

Number of Salmonid Arrivals: 754 Coho, 4 Chinook, and 1 Chum

The numbers were surprising and showed an improvement which was great to see that the actions being taken are helping Salmoind communities. Throughout the site visits, Restoration Ecology had the opportunity so see differences between a newly implemented site vs a site which has years of being implemented. The site seen below demonstrates the beginning stages of what a newly implemented project looks like. As we can see much of the site looks clean in the sense that everything is still in place and not under natural matter. An important incorporation of the site is the decomposable coconut fabric which allows for there to be structure, habitat, and most importantly it will eventually decompose. On the other hand a site which has been implemented has a natural look to it as there is so much natural matter already covering the coconut fiber fabric.

Restoration Planning

Restoration is not a simple task as many may think. It takes a lot of time, planning, partners, and permitting. Sara is highly educated in the planning process as she discussed that having connections is important. This is due to the fact that land owners have a big role in putting a project to a pause or even a stop. Yet, when one has connections things are made a bit easier. In developing a project there are many partners involved. Teddy played a big role in the estimations of the projects costs as well as providing machinery and loading trucks.

Conclusion

Overall it was a great experience filled with much new learned knowledge. The best part was that there are various opportunities offered if one wanted to pursue new volunteering or work tasks. Listed below are a few of the offered opportunities.

• SPAWN Program
• Nursery Help – 10 am to 2 pm every Friday and Saturday