Tucked away in Northern California’s Plumas National Forest along a series of creek systems and upland meadows a group of river restorationists, Biologists, Ecologists, regulators and passionate folks from all over the western USA came together to delve deeper into the art of Process Based Restoration. This workshop, titled Build Like A Beaver and hosted by the California PBR Network (CalPBR), aimed to share from among the top experts in the field of Process Based Restoration a look at the landscape from a watershed perspective, how to implement designs to achieve restoration goals including an understanding of different structure types and how implementation over time can achieve those goals.
Led by Karen Pope, USFS, Garrett Castello of Symbiotic Restoration, Kevin Swift of Swift Water Design, Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), and many others, we experienced degraded mountain meadows and the beginnings of rewetting remnant meadows along with the tricks and techniques used to slow the water down and spread it out on the landscape.
And it turns out, the beavers are the masters and originators of these techniques.
Taking inspiration from the beavers, we were guided in the process of:
- Building structures called Post-Assisted Log Structures (PALS) to assist in wood accumulation and aggradation of sediment.
- Selecting sites for restoration, sites that could effectively reactivate long-dormant stream channels, reestablish the connection between the stream and the floodplain, provide much needed sediment for downstream structures, places where aggradation could build up the streambank, and more.
- Techniques that halt head-cuts, some as large as 12 feet deep, by simple methods involving only human physical & mental power and tools we can carry by hand.
- Building structures similar to beaver dams, called Beaver Dam Analogs to slow the water down and create ponds.
And amongst all the learning and doing and building skills, an unnamed climate of collaboration was palpable. Creating a culture of support for the river, the land, the current & historic indigenous land stewards, the local economies and each other was more than spoken about, it was practiced. Local organic food was cooked and served to participants, tools were purchased at local hardware stores, local artists and designers were hired to create company t-shirts. Apparently, coming together to learn how to rebuild our riverscapes can also have the added benefits of rebuilding our rural communities. A win-win-win all around.
The SLO Beaver Brigade is excited to facilitate Process Based Restoration to re-wet our waterways, and regenerative economies, in SLO County. Stay tuned for upcoming project sites in our area.