Habitat restoration on Silver Creek has been something that the Nature Conservancy on Silver Creek has undertaken for over forty years. It started by working with landowners on fencing cattle from getting into the stream, to extensive and ongoing riparian vegetation and wetland plantings. Without this effort from the Nature Conservancy and creating thousands of acres of easements, Silver Creek would be very different today. But one of the most stubborn and difficult habitat issues that persists on Silver Creek is siltation. Siltation on Silver Creek is a well documented issue and for decades Silver Creek has been the repository for the on-going issues of aging agriculture practices and airborne dust problems. Silt accumulates in some sections of Silver Creek and never flushes out due to the slow-moving water. Without our intervention in restoration, sediment would take hundreds of years to move out of the system on its own. Many landowners have gone to great lengths to remove the legacy silt buildup and restore habitat. In fact, two of the Alliance’s board members have at great expense to themselves in removed sediment from their properties and restored riparian habitat to a more naturally functioning system. Some landowners however, cannot afford to take on this expense in its entirety on their own, but would very much like to see the habitat restored and the fishery thrive once again. Funding assistance from the Alliance can go a long way in helping these landowners and in return, help the entire fishery and that would also benefit the public with a robust, thriving system for trout. Some sediment removal projects that have been recently undertaken have had amazingly positive results in Silver Creek. One such project was the Kilpatrick/Purdy Pond Project. This was arguably one of the largest spring creek sediment removal projects ever undertaken. After just four years of the system rebounding since the restoration, you would never know that such a large project ever took place and the fish love it! Along with an enormous amount of sediment removed, the wetland areas where enhanced and riparian plantings have returned the habitat to a thriving, functioning ecosystem. There are several ways to remove sediment and restore habitat in Silver Creek and each piece of water requires a different approach to restoration. Each project has a different cost associated with it and different set of rules. One on-going habitat and silt removal project that is in need of funding is the RR Ranch project. Past and continuing projects on this Ranch have had very positive results for the entire system and the fishery is currently one of the best pieces of water on Silver Creek because of these efforts.
Sediment survey inventories and data collection have been undertaken for six years by Ecosystem Sciences and their partners so we can better understand how to deal with each situation that has habitat concerns.
Habitat Restoration Projects
Habitat restoration on Silver Creek has been something that the Nature Conservancy on Silver Creek has undertaken for over forty years. It started by working with landowners on fencing cattle from getting into the stream, to extensive and ongoing riparian vegetation and wetland plantings. Without this effort from the Nature Conservancy and creating thousands of acres of easements, Silver Creek would be very different today. But one of the most stubborn and difficult habitat issues that persists on Silver Creek is siltation. Siltation on Silver Creek is a well documented issue and for decades Silver Creek has been the repository for the on-going issues of aging agriculture practices and airborne dust problems. Silt accumulates in some sections of Silver Creek and never flushes out due to the slow-moving water. Without our intervention in restoration, sediment would take hundreds of years to move out of the system on its own. Many landowners have gone to great lengths to remove the legacy silt buildup and restore habitat. In fact, two of the Alliance’s board members have at great expense to themselves in removed sediment from their properties and restored riparian habitat to a more naturally functioning system. Some landowners however, cannot afford to take on this expense in its entirety on their own, but would very much like to see the habitat restored and the fishery thrive once again. Funding assistance from the Alliance can go a long way in helping these landowners and in return, help the entire fishery and that would also benefit the public with a robust, thriving system for trout. Some sediment removal projects that have been recently undertaken have had amazingly positive results in Silver Creek. One such project was the Kilpatrick/Purdy Pond Project. This was arguably one of the largest spring creek sediment removal projects ever undertaken. After just four years of the system rebounding since the restoration, you would never know that such a large project ever took place and the fish love it! Along with an enormous amount of sediment removed, the wetland areas where enhanced and riparian plantings have returned the habitat to a thriving, functioning ecosystem. There are several ways to remove sediment and restore habitat in Silver Creek and each piece of water requires a different approach to restoration. Each project has a different cost associated with it and different set of rules. One on-going habitat and silt removal project that is in need of funding is the RR Ranch project. Past and continuing projects on this Ranch have had very positive results for the entire system and the fishery is currently one of the best pieces of water on Silver Creek because of these efforts.
Sediment survey inventories and data collection have been undertaken for six years by Ecosystem Sciences and their partners so we can better understand how to deal with each situation that has habitat concerns.
Photos of silt removal and restoration: Dredge for Purdy Pond restoration / Where silt has been removed / Heavy equipment silt removal / Purdy dam reconstruction / Pond after restoration
Projects for Silver Creek