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Site just at the start of trench digging for coir logs.
The Flute Reed Watershed is an area full of passionate landowners and stewards of the land. The Watershed is made of many tributaries and the main river, the Flute Reed River. The river is impaired for sediment. The sediment enters the river and tributaries through land use practices, eroding banks, impact from beavers to riparian zones and other sources. The sediment creates a problem for aquatic life in the river. A few examples of extra sediment in the river include, warming the water by absorbing heat, clouding the waters so fish are unable to eat and macro-invertebrates maybe impacted — by being unable to breath due to sediment impacting oxygen in the waters or reducing access to food in the water. There are ways to reduce the sediment in the river and work towards long term benefits for both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has a history of working with landowners in the area to improve water quality in the watershed. During September, Cook County SWCD had the opportunity to work with landowners and the Conservation Corp of Minnesota and Iowa (CCMI). The five – member crew with CCMI were key to a successful project of stabilizing a slumping bank. The project was on a tributary of the Flute Reed River. The bank slumping was creating excess sediment transport in the tributary.
The project was only accessible on foot. The hike was 0.2 of a mile in. The crew carried 10 – foot coir logs, a chain saw, stakes, tools, and other materials needed for the project. The crew worked for five days. At the start of the week, there was barely 1.5 inches of water in the tributary. A greater then 1 inch rain then raised the creek a few inches. The crew worked in the water, digging and installing a false toe to the bank for the slump to land on and to prevent further erosion of the toe of the bank by the tributary. Once the logs were secured, the crew installed willow wattles or live fascines into the bank on top of an erosion control blanket. Following the securing of these materials, the crew planted over 200 plants varying from trees, shrubs and sedges to flowers. A layer of native seeds was planted behind the erosion blankets. As time progresses, the area may slump more to become more stable, but the plant roots will help to re-stabilize the area and the coir logs will aid in holding sediment from the tributary and provide an area for plants to grow.
CCMI Crew
The crew with CCMI brought their expertise and combined it with on-site learning to make this project successful. They had to problem solve on the fly to ensure materials would stay in place after retuning one day to find changes from disturbance to the slope. It was fun to be with the crew as they worked well together. When approaching the work site, you would often hear laughing or singing. Both welcome sounds from a not so easy construction site. Beyond all the crew had to offer, the landowners were critical — creating a safe trail used to access the project, working closely with the SWCD staff and SWCD engineers from Technical Service Area III for project success and even bringing homemade scones one morning for everyone to enjoy. Cook County SWCD is excited to see partnerships like this contribute to the long-term benefit of our natural resources. The project was funded through a Clean Water Fund grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources.
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