Watershed: Palouse Basin
Stream Name: Paradise Creek
Date Established: 06/30/2000
Project Status: Complete
Description
In the summer of 2000 with the help of the AmeriCorps*NCCC team, this streambank was reinforced through soft engineering techniques. This was done by manually resloping the bank, installing coir logs, and erosion control blankets. In addition, a native riparian grass mix was broadcast throughout the site. Then in the fall, native riparian vegetation such as Douglas Hawthorn, Serviceberry, Mountain Ash, Red Osier Dogwood were planted.
Previous Conditions
The previously existing steep streambank had only reed canary grass along the bank. Once undercutting began, the thick mat of rhizomes in the upper soil profile and the stems above ground added additional weight to the near vertical bank. Bank failure was then a common occurrence.
Photo History:
Joseph Before (06/30/2000): Once the reed canary was removed from this area, it was quite apparent the amount of failure that had been occurring. The bank had a number of large undercut areas where the soil had been eroded.
Joseph Restored (07/18/2000): Taken from the same location as the previous photograph, the streambank has been terraced into three layers, each of which has a coir log at its base. These coir logs help to trap sediment carried by overland flow from the surrounding property before is reaches the creek.
Joseph Restored (06/18/2001): The Joseph Street project at the same location but almost a year later, the native riparian grass mix is growing.
