Stream Restoration
&
Habitat Improvement
Many salmon populations are at a fraction of historic levels resulting in cultural and economic impacts. Restoring natural habitats for Pacific salmon is a cost effective means to recovery. We offer voluntary and incentive-based programs that are a proven means to empower landowners to be stewards of the land and water.
Habitat and streamside restoration is critical to recover and protect habitat for endangered and threatened species, especially for our salmon.
Continue reading below to learn more about the innumerable benefits of planting buffers.
Program Offerings
The water needs of our native salmon can best be expressed using the 5 C's: Cold, clean, clear, consistent and complex.
Water is kept cold by the shade that riparian buffers provide, preventing warm water disease.
Native plants help to filter pesticides, herbicides, oil and other pollutants from our waterways, blazing the path to clean water for salmon.
Native plants in a riparian buffer can help filter sediments and particulate matter in a stream to keep water clear for salmon. Clear water is essential to ensure proper oxygenation. Some bodies of water, like the Nooksack, are naturally filled with glacial sediment that the salmon are accustomed to. Water that is naturally opaque is not a concern. Murky water filled with pollutants while fish are trying to migrate is like a human trying to run a marathon breathing only diesel fumes.
Riparian buffers can help return water to its ancestral flow, where it geologically settled at the end of our most recent ice age. This optimizes water flow to ensure it is there when the salmon are counting on it to be. This consistent water is critical to spawning salmon populations that want to reproduce for more than a single generation.
Native plants provide complex habitat in streams and rivers. Debris, snags and root beds are essential to break upstream currents so salmon can rest on their long journey.
Riparian buffers are an excellent solution to confront the challenges that salmon face on many fronts.
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The water needs of our native salmon can best be expressed using the 5 C's: Cold, clean, clear, consistent and complex.
Water is kept cold by the shade that riparian buffers provide, preventing warm water disease.
Native plants help to filter pesticides, herbicides, oil and other pollutants from our waterways, blazing the path to clean water for salmon.
Native plants in a riparian buffer can help filter sediments and particulate matter in a stream to keep water clear for salmon. Clear water is essential to ensure proper oxygenation. Some bodies of water, like the Nooksack, are naturally filled with glacial sediment that the salmon are accustomed to. Water that is naturally opaque is not a concern. Murky water filled with pollutants while fish are trying to migrate is like a human trying to run a marathon breathing only diesel fumes.
Riparian buffers can help return water to its ancestral flow, where it geologically settled at the end of our most recent ice age. This optimizes water flow to ensure it is there when the salmon are counting on it to be. This consistent water is critical to spawning salmon populations that want to reproduce for more than a single generation.
Native plants provide complex habitat in streams and rivers. Debris, snags and root beds are essential to break upstream currents so salmon can rest on their long journey.
Riparian buffers are an excellent solution to confront the challenges that salmon face on many fronts.
Stream Restoration
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CREP?
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a voluntary program designed to help both landowners and the environment. CREP pays landowners to establish buffers of native trees and shrubs along fish bearing streams and rivers.
If you have a riparian buffer then likely, yes. But that is a good thing! In an age where habitat destruction and urbanization are the norm, you can be a steward to the wild creatures around you--both big and small.
Planting a riparian buffer provides a safe corridor for animals to travel through. You can play an active role in reducing roadkill, nursing biodiversity, and keeping Whatcom County wild.
Remember, the deer isn't crossing the road.
The road is crossing the forest.
When we think of pollinators, we typically think of honeybees. You might be surprised to learn that there are 200,000 species of animals and insects that act as pollinators. These helpful creatures move pollen between flowering plants, which leads to fertilization and eventually reproduction. In short, without pollinators we would not have any crops.
Many factors have led to massive die-offs and rising instances of colony collapse disorder of pollinators in recent decades. These include habitat destruction, climate change, use of non-organic pesticides, and many others. Planting riparian buffers provides sanctuary and necessary food for your local pollinators. A direct correlation has been found between local pollinator health and crop yields, as well as ecosystem health.
A hedgerow can take many forms, from a single species of rectangularly groomed border to a streamside forest of biodiversity. Did you know that a hedge becomes a hedgerow once other features are present in it? This might include having more than one species of shrub, installing a gate or a wall, or even a structure. Their functions are many. Among the most important are providing shelter and food for your local pollinators, serving as a windbreak to protect crops, and carbon storage. Additionally, they help hold streamside moisture, stabilize embankments, and shelter our fragile waterways from pesticides, engine fumes, and other forms of pollution. All functional benefits aside, hedgerows and riparian buffers are a beautiful addition to any property.
The forests you played in as a child have disappeared. This is your chance to rebuild them for the next generation.
What are fish passage barriers?
Fish passage barriers can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They could be in the form of a clogged culvert, a dam, or a bridge. Anything that blocks the natural flow of water or otherwise prevents fish from having access to consecutive parts of a stream can be considered a fish passage barrier. In an ideal world all waterways would provide uninterrupted pathways for wildlife while simultaneously providing essential infrastructure such as bridges and flood prevention measures.
CREP can cover the cost to remove these barriers and pay for the installation of more effective ones that are better for fish and safer for humans. Reach out to us for more information!
Can humans go there?
One of the most common questions with stream restoration involves the presence of humans. You'll be happy to know that among the other benefits, stream restoration helps conserve, protect and rebuild land where humans can relax, fish, hunt and otherwise recreate in the outdoors. In an era where habitats are regularly fragmented and destroyed in Washington, programs like CREP can give endangered wildlife like our Coho salmon a fighting chance.
There are few moments in life more rewarding than seeing the leaves catching sunlight, the hawk perched, the salmon running through your own yard.
Stream restoration is your opportunity to become an ally to Whatcom County's native species. They need your help.
Whatcom County is a hub of trade and commerce, and has been for centuries. Being connected to a global economy often means unintentionally inviting non-native organisms onto our landscape that overtake indigenous flora and fauna with ease. Below we will cover the three most common invasive species you are likely to find in Whatcom County. Reach out to us to learn more about how to handle them on your property.
What does a buffer do?
Aside from generating passive income, there are many benefits to having the CREP program on your property. These include stream bank stabilization, free fencing to control livestock, creating better habitat to help endangered species such as the coho salmon recover, invasive species removal, and more. Visit our main CREP page to learn about more benefits.
Blackberry
Himalayan Blackberry and Evergreen Blackberry are extremely common and aggressive invasive in the entire county. Our abundance of disturbed sites like clear cuts, roadsides and urban dwellings provide ample opportunity for this plant to grow.
Blackberries are an issue in the county because they out compete native species for soil nutrients and easily stifle their growth. Additionally, blackberry creates large impassable areas and contributes to habitat fragmentation. Further, because it is so difficult to work with it often goes overlooked or ignor