More photos of the repaired BDA instream stuctures on Lost River, tributary of the Mattole river. They held up well to extremely high flows last winter. These are permeable dams that mimic beaver dams. This is a Sanctuary Forest Project within the Mattole Watershed, to enhance summer stream flows in the Mattole river, and salmonid habitat enhancement
#BeaverDamAnalog
#WatershedRestoration
#StreamFlowEnhancement
#InstreamStructures
#Salmonids

Arrrgh for some reason half the photos I took at the restoration site today, have vanished off the phone. This project is an experimental stream recharge pond facilitated by Sanctuary Forest, in one of the tributaries to the upper Mattole River in northern CA. The pond is adjacent to the creek, and the goal is for the pond to slowly discharge water into the creek during low flows in summer. Its a tricky balance to create a pond that leaks slowly. This pond was not holding water well, losing water too fast, so bentonite was added for a better seal. However if a pond is sealed too well, it won't discharge.
We seeded the site with two native CA grass species, CA #Brome and #Deschampsia (#tufted hair grass). Both species are suited to woodland sites. We also mulched the area with rice straw. Those fotos vanished from my phone. Im bummed that the Beaver Dam Analog, #BDA photos, in the creek adjacent to the pond vanished. BDA's are human made instream dams that mimic a beaver dam. They are functioning well, after repairing them in the summer using huckleberry for branch packing.
#WatershedRestoration
#CaNativeBunchGrass
#deschampsia #CaBrome
#BeaverDamAnalog
#BDA
#bioengineering
#branchpacking