RESTORING WOODY PLANTS ON A

CONSTRUCTED STREAM CHANNEL

AT A HIGH ELEVATION ABANDONED

MINE IN IDAHO

2009 River Restoration Northwest

Stream Restoration Design Symposium

February 5, 2009

by Leonard Ballek

Herrera Environmental Consultants Inc.

Project Background

• Located near Yellow Pine, Idaho

• Mined from early 1900’s to late 1990’s

• About 3,000 acres

• Tailings dam failure resulted in tailings

deposition along Meadow Creek

Habitat Value

• Tributary to South Fork of Salmon River

Stibnite Mine

• New channel constructed in part of flood plain not

impacted by tailings

• Revegetation work conducted in September 2005

• Meadow Creek routed into new channel

• Stranded fish rescued and relocated to new

channel

• Old channel backfilled and revegetated

Project Scope

Challenges to Revegetating Site

• Remote location

• Poor Rocky Soils

• Short Growing Season and Droughty

Summers

• Fluctuating water table

• Big Game Browse Damage

• Short Work Window

Old Channel Through Tailings

New Meadow Creek Channel

Construction

Revegetation September 2005

• Grow and install 10,000 willow container plants

• Install 2,000 willow cuttings

• Salvage and plant 220 large willow clumps

• Spread woody debris on backfilled old stream channel and

floodplain to provide “safe sites” for seed germination.

• Spread compost and hydroseed

Willow Supply

• Willow container plants

– from local cuttings collected in spring 2005 grown in containers 3

inches by 14 inches deep

• Willow cuttings

– at least 4 ft long and ½ inch in diameter collected on site in

September 2005

• Willow clumps

- salvaged on site

- immediately planted on critical banks

Willow Container Plants

Salvaged Willow Clumps

Container Willow Planting

Loading Planter Magazine

Willow Cutting Installation

Planting Willow Clumps

Rescuing Stranded Fish From

Abandoned Channel

Rescued Fish

Filling Abandoned Channel

New Channel Background

Old Channel Filled and Seeded

Foreground

Revegetation Crew

Spring 2006

Inundation for over a month

Summer 2006

Summer 2007

Summer 2008

Rocky Mountain Browse Control

Results

• All plants are very slow growing because of the short season

• Container Plants 90% survival rate after three years

• Cuttings-

– survival not well monitored

– survival fair but much slower growth than container plants.

Results Continued

• Salvaged willow clumps

– 70% survival

– dormant salvage and trimming would have improved survival

• Wolves in the area preventing browse damage

• Fish and macro invertebrate populations have recovered

• Recreational fishing is now occurring on the restored reach of Meadow Creek

Lessons Learned

• Cost and effectiveness of salvaged willows at high elevation

• Value of deep containers and larger cuttings for survival

• Value of mechanized planting for cost savings, fast implementation and small work force.

• Importance of utilizing site adapted stock

Questions?