FAQs

7 ways your watershed can benefit from Wetlands

􀂃 Improve water quality by breaking down, removing, using or retaining nutrients, organic waste and sediment carried to the wetland with runoff from the watershed

􀂃 Reduce severity of floods downstream by retaining water and releasing it during drier periods.

􀂃 Protect stream banks and shore lines from erosion.

􀂃 Recharge groundwater, potentially reducing water shortages during dry spells.

􀂃 Provide food and other products—such as commercial fish and shellfish—for human use.

􀂃 Provide fish and wildlife—including numerous rare and endangered species—food habitat, breeding grounds, and resting areas.

􀂃 Increase opportunities for recreation—bird watching, waterfowl hunting, photography—and outdoor education.

-  Know your watershed

 

 

 

Pole Planting  -
 

Pole Plantings use large diameter cuttings (poles vs. stakes) which are relatively long, 5 to 10 feet in length. The cuttings are taken from willow (Salix spp.) or cottonwood (Populus spp.). The cuttings are intended to sprout and take root, stabilizing the streambank with a dense matrix of roots. Pole plantings are planted deep so they usually require heavy equipment assisted construction techniques.

 

Conditions Where Practice Applies
 

Pole planting is suitable for floodplains, streambanks, and other riparian zones. Pole plantings are very useful for highly erodible areas and sites with fluctuating water tables.

Pole planting is a useful "stand alone" revegetation technique for replacing and/or reestablishing riparian vegetation and cover. Pole planting is also particularly suitable for conjunctive uses with other streambank stabilization techniques such as vegetated riprap, vegetated gabions, rootwad revetments with vegetated riprap, vegetated deflectors, and longitudinal peaked stone toe protection.

 

The numbers of cottonwoods are decreasing along the Rio Grande , because for decades flooding has been prevented and natural places for cottonwood establishment are not being created. One way to counteract this is to plant cottonwoods. Cottonwoods have an adaptation that land managers can take advantage of: a long, young branch of a cottonwood tree (here called a “pole”) can be cut and put in the ground where it will send out roots and grow. We can have tall trees immediately, without needing to grow them in a nursery from seed. This usually takes a lot of labor, a giant drill to drill a hole down to the water table (remember cottonwoods need to have their roots in the water to survive), and very long branches of cottonwood, 15 to 20 feet long (and even then, all but a few feet will be buried). The cottonwood pole is slipped in the newly drilled hole and dirt is packed in. This is a way to give some cottonwoods a good start, but it is expensive, especially if you are looking at miles of river needing more cottonwoods. What beneficial changes will there be as the result of this project? What habitat components can we replace on the model now? add ten more cottonwood saplings to the model, making sure you put them close to the river where the water table is not too deep add one more mature cottonwood tree to symbolize that this project will mean large trees in the future