. Up-Slope Restoration.............In-Stream Restoration...........and Riparian Restoration

WATERSHED RESTORATION A watershed is a drainage basin; an area that collects and discharges water into a single main stream through a series of smaller tributaries. Watershed restoration has three main components; up-slope, in-stream, and riparian.
	Up-Slope Restoration Watershed restoration starts at the top, on the hillsides. Non-utilized roads and bridges pose an environmental risk (possible failure, slumping, or complete landslide). So the roads and bridges are removed and the hillside returned to a natural state. Landslide areas are also restored through bio-engineering techniques to prevent soil and other matter from sliding down into the fish creeks below. Bio-engineering is basically the use of live willow cuttings to build temporary living retaining walls as a stabilizer until indigenous plants take hold. For more information on bio-engineering click here (insert Restoration Approach again)
Close-up of log "complexing".	In-Stream Restoration Up until the late 1980s, dams, logging, and salvage logging for shake and shingle products negatively impacted ecosystems, choking many streams with logging waste, blocking fish passage. During in-stream restoration the excess small wood debris is removed from the creek so water flows freely and fish have access to all reaches of the creek from the mouth of the river to the spawning and rearing areas. Spawning and rearing habitat is created by strategically placing gravel and large woody debris (root wads and logs) to mimic natural patterns. Removing wood debris jams allows the stream to re-develop a natural flow pattern, which, in turn, improves the condition of the forest around the stream; reducing flooding, erosion, and promoting healthy vibrant growth on stream-side banks. Click here to see an illustrated step-by step description of this process.
For more detailed info. on in-stream restoration, read the year-end reports from different project areas. Kennedy Flats 2000: KWRP Compendium 2000 work Final.pdf (73 kilobytes) Kennedy Flats 2001: KWRP 2001 SR Compendium.pdf (69 kilobytes) Mooyah River 2000: Mooyah 2000 Compendium.pdf (111 kilobytes) Mooyah River 2001: Mooyah 2001 Compendium.pdf (119 kilobytes) Mayfly Creek 2001: Mayfly Creek 2001 Rearing Pond Summary.pdf (1,228 kb) .
Log is hollowed for habitat.	Riparian Restoration With former forestry practices, many riparian (stream-side) areas were logged. But most streams need large conifer trees to meet the requirements for fish habitat, stream health, and stream stability. Many riparian areas that were harvested have only new growth and do not function properly. Although it can take hundreds of years for a forest to acquire old-growth characteristics, there are silviculture techniques to speed the process including spacing, thinning, fertilizing, planting, and girdling. A healthy riparian zone, with healthy coniferous trees, shades the stream helping to regulate stream temperature. Coniferous trees stabilize the stream bank and as they mature and fall over, the trees provide cover for fish and wildlife. Biodiversity work to create habitat in the riparian area is also important including topping of conifers to create snags, creating dead and dying trees, opening the forest area to create gaps, and modifying trees.
For more detailed information on riparian restoration download: RVT Template.pdf For more detailed information on riparian restoration, read the year-end reports from different project areas. Kootowis Creek 2000: Kootowis Riparian 2000 Compendium Final.pdf (67 kb) Viner River 2001: Viner SR and RT 2001 Compendium.pdf (119 kilobytes) Kennedy Flats 2001: KWRP 2001 RT Compendium.pdf (140 kilobytes) For further information read the following reports: Riparian Silviculture: An Annotated Bibliography for Practitioners of Riparian Restoration.pdf (565 kilobytes) Riparian Restoration in BC: What's Happening Now, What's Needed for the Future.pdf (82 kilobytes)

Central Westcoast Forest Society at: Box 405, Ucluelet, BC V0R 3A0 Tel: (250) 726-2424 Fax: (250) 726-7211 Email: cwfs@alberni.net

brochure.pdf click here to download a pdf file version of our Central Westcoast Forest Society brochure. This is a 500 kilobyte file. fishery.pdf click here to download a pdf file version of our brochure discussing Salmon Stream Restoration. This is a 670 kilobyte file. To view above documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download from adobe).

CWFS Restoration: I Watershed I Salmon I Forests I Future Projects  . .