Watershed: Paradise Creek
Stream Name: Paradise Creek
Date Established: 08/01/1995
Project Status: Completed 1996, ongoing maintenance
Overview
The Moscow School District and PCEI completed a cooperative habitat and floodplain restoration project within the city of Moscow.? A 1200 foot section of stream was restored by recreating meanders in a formerly straight stretch of stream, reestablishing a portion of floodplain along Paradise Creek, and restoring habitat for fish and wildlife.
Description
In 1994, PCEI received funding for “Phase One” of the “Paradise Creek Watershed Restoration” from the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality (now Department) and EPA under section 319 of the Clean Water Act to restore the floodplain and streambanks at a site owned by the Moscow School District, and to develop an erosion control ordinance for the City of Moscow. Before the restoration project, this section of Paradise Creek was channelized with unstable banks. The riparian zone was farmed and plant diversity along the stream channel was low.
In the Fall of 1995, it took Roach Construction (of Genesee, Idaho) one week to excavate a 5 acre floodplain and remeander 1,200 feet of stream channel, in all, moving 12,000 cubic yards of earth. Volunteers, including Moscow schoolchildren, University of Idaho (UI) and Washington State University (WSU) students, and community members, built three 175 foot revetments for stabilization and demonstration purposes including: a log-crib revetment, a BioLog? revetment, and a root-wad and rock revetment. PCEI volunteers seeded and mulched over 3000 square feet of streambank and 5 acres of floodplain, installed over 6000 square feet of geotextiles, and planted over 750 native plants. In total, it took about 2,000 volunteer hours to construct this project.? Below are some of the pictures of this restoration project.
The site was later named the “Carol Ryrie Brink Nature Park”, for the author who grew up in Moscow. Meanwhile, a “Point Source Pollution Impacts” report was co-authored for the City of Moscow, which highlighted leaking underground storage tanks, hazardous chemical storage facilities and urban stormwater runoff.
Previous Conditions
Paradise Creek was straightened and channelized by former owners, creating unstable banks lacking riparian vegetation. The land adjacent to the stream was an active wheatfield and plant diversity along the stream channel was low. The creek was heated by direct solar radiation. The water quality was impaired by direct, unbuffered flows of stormwater runoff. Wildlife habitat along the creek was poor.
Photo History:
Before Restoration: Carol Ryrie Brink Nature Park Before PCEI’s restoration. Before the restoration project, this section of Paradise Creek was channelized with unstable banks. The riparian zone was farmed and plant diversity along the stream channel was low.
9/27/95 Restoration Picture: A log Crib Revetment wall was installed to help stabilize the new meander in the stream. This was installed with the help of numerous community volunteers.
9/27/95 Restoration Picture: A view of the newly created channel with resloped banks.
9/27/95 Restoration Picture: Root wads and rocks were used to help secure and stabilize the banks of Paradise Creek.
9/27/95 New Channel: A view of the newly created channel with resloped banks.
10/5/95 Planting Day: Moscow School Children hard at work planting the newly constructed floodplain with native plants.
10/5/95 Planting Day: Students plant native vegetation on top of the log crib revetment.
10/21/2002 Log crib revetment and vegetation: Seven years after construction, the stream now flows through the new channel with significantly more vegetation and diversity. Houses are also seen in the background.
Interpretive signs have been added to the path: Visitors of the park can view interpretive signs as they walk down the path.
10/17/2002 A nice walk past the larger pines: Seven Years after construction, the trees are getting a lot bigger.
From the air, 11/15/03: The meanders of the stream through the Carol Ryrie Brink Nature Park, to the right of the new houses, and to the left of the footpath.
From the air, 11/15/03 with the neighborhood: Brink park can be seen in the foreground, just beyond the houses in the bottom of the picture. Beyond the large field and the houses in the upper right hand corner lies the new restoration project East of Mountain View Road.
Winter wonderland: A snowy New Year’s Day gives an opportunity to enjoy the day!
Winter creek close-up 1/04: A nice ripple through the ice and snow.
Stream width diversity: Fresh snow enables the viewer to see a varied stream width morphology of this restored site.