Christie’s Blog

October 2024

Rebuilding Streams and Flood Plains with Low-Tech, Process-Based Restoration:

The Job of my Son, the Geomorphologist

My husband and I recently went to the town of Fort Collins, Colorado to visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandson. It is the quintessential town for preserving the environment and working with Nature to sustain a healthy world.

My son and his wife met at Colorado School of Mines while getting their Masters Degree in Hydrology a Geomorphology. Together they have rafted and/or kayaked the Colorado River three times on 15 day long trips. Their fun times have always been spent hiking and rafting in National Parks in many parts of the west.

My son, daughter and daughter-in- law on one of the Colorado River trips are pictured above.

My daughter-in-law just finished her Doctorate on “Invasive Species and their Influence on Geomorphology”. Her studies have taken her to the Colorado River, Green River, Rio Grande and more. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has already adopted some of the solution models she created.

My daughter- in-law reaching for a frog from inside a limestone cave on the Colorado River.

Anyway, you get the picture. From the outdoors standpoint, theirs is a tough act to follow.

My husband and I had loads of questions about our grandson’s and their friends recreational activities and jobs. Colin explained that he was trying to get a construction project started and completed before winter hit. He needed to guide the crews in its construction. He had to be in the field a lot because the project was his plan and design.

The next day I remembered to ask,“Colin, what is the project?” His reply, “Building beaver dams.”

The United State Environmental Protection Agency has determined that 46% of the rivers in the U.S. are in poor biological shape. The effect of dams, irrigation practices and transportation needs have turned local streams and renown rivers into ditches of slow moving water.

Many streams and rivers have been cut off from their floodplains. This is like cutting all the limbs off of a tree. The tree needs the limbs to survive. For rivers, the floodplain is a place to store water during floods to lessen the load on the river. To the floodplains the rivers rhythmic flooding is its source of life. Vegetation, fish and wildlife slowly die off when the river and floodplain are disconnected from each other. Their habitat is destroyed, their food moves away, or they cant find a place to raise their young.

In the past, the methods of river restoration have been slow and costly. My son and his company approach these projects like they are building an apartment building or bridge. My son uses the Low-Tech Processed Based Restoration approach (LTPBR). Local cities and municipalities as well as state governments ask his company to help mitigate damage from wildfires and human alterations.

Hence enters his project of building the beaver dams. Colin writes up designs using natural structures like downed trees to mimic the way beavers slow flows, disapate energy and reconnect floodplains. Woody materials, native willow plants and native stone are integrated into the dam. They choose streams that are degraded but also accessible on which to rebuild the beaver dams.

All this can happen really quickly with the Low Tech plans they develop. A group of 4 crew members familiar with the construction of beaver dams can rebuild as may as 2 dams a day, finishing the project in a few weeks. Construction of this type triggers healing for the whole watershed.

LTPBR Booklet_FINAL.pdf

Colin uses similar Low-Tech Process Based Restoration to address other environmental issues. Such as:

• Wildfire ‘Burns’ to reduce the amount of debris and mud that can slide off a mountain after even a light rain.

• to improve water cleanliness and the presence of plants and wildlife along even minor streams.

His company is very effective in getting help to a site when emergency funding and the need for swift action is imperative. There are times when red tape can slow the process down. A sad example of this is The Poudre River flooding in 2021. Colin had talked to and had been working with the father of the family who were all killed by a flash flood the day before. With even light rain, boulders and mud were carried over the banks of the river destroying anything in its path.

The debris flow from The Poudre River after 2021 flood.

When my husband and I raised our kids we wanted to have them interact with the outdoors. We sent them to summer camp in Vermont, to paddling lessons in North Carolina, to organically oriented semesters in Maine and even mountaineering in Alaska with the Nation Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). (My husband has said more than once he wished he was one of our kids.)It’s nice to think it was well worth the money and effort.

I try to do my part in helping my 2 year old grandson connect with Nature. When no one is around I whisper to him, “Someday you will do great things for the World.”

Christie lives in Manakin Sabot , Virginia where she manages a 3 acre garden. Her blogs are written from her 35 years as a personal and professional gardener.