( re ) making a stream . |
This past summer , our land stewardship staff completed the largest restoration project in Crow ’ s Nest |
pond |
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Preserve ’ s history . It started with a “ nudge ” from | |
Mother Nature . | |
Back in June , 2018 , heavy rainfall caused an old | |
pond dam to fail . The dam had been built many |
decades ago to create a pond that provided water for livestock and in case of fire at the former farmstead . |
March 2000 |
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While pretty to look at , man-made ponds increase | |
the water ’ s temperature and attract Canada Geese | |
whose droppings increase phosphorus levels , negatively | |
impacting aquatic life downstream . Naturally | |
occurring wetlands , by contrast , are far more beneficial | |
to wildlife . | |
So , when the dam at Crow ’ s Nest failed , it was an | |
opportunity to restore the stream that once flowed | |
through the property . The US Department of Agriculture | |
’ s Natural Resource Conservation Service | |
provided both funding and engineering services while |
Natural Lands staff replanted the reconstructed stream banks . |
during restoration March 2020 |
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The team installed erosion-control mats over |
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wildflower seeds and a cover crop of rye . Preserve |
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Manager Dan Barringer noted , “ The mats aid in germination |
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and keep the soil in place until the plants become |
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established . There are places in these mudflats |
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where you can lose a boot !” |
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They also planted a variety of native shrubs along |
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the stream ’ s edge , including smooth alder , winterberry |
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holly , chokeberry , ninebark , and red osier dogwood . |
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The banks of the stream are bolstered with stone , |
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top : Steve Eisenhauer , middle and bottom : Daniel Barringer |
further protecting it from erosion . “ This project was many years in the making ,” said Dan . “ It ’ s fantastic to see it come to completion , and I can ’ t wait to watch the plants fill in and see what kind of wildlife begin to appear as the wetlands mature .”
To view this restoration project in person , take the Creek Trail past the “ Tiny Library ” and up into the Jacob farmstead . Or , coming back from the Chief ’ s Grove there is a bench overlooking the restoration and Jacob barn . W
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former pond |
October 2020 |