Restoration & Reforestation
Home > Managing A Watershed > Improving Water Quality > Restoration & Reforestation
The Association sponsors a series of volunteer projects to reforest riparian buffer areas and restore eroded stream banks throughout the watershed. Healthy, intact stream banks and forests provide wildlife habitat, reduce flooding and erosion, and contribute to a community’s open space.
STREAMBANK RESTORATION
We implement stream bank restoration projects to control erosion and ultimately contribute to the improvement of water quality. 
Degraded stream banks, often caused by poorly planned development, lead to erosion of precious soil and destruction of stream habitat. In our restorations, we use native plants to hold onto the topsoil of the banks and prevent it from flowing downstream. In addition to providing erosion control, the native plants act as a buffer strip to filter pollutants from water that runs off the land after storms. This vegetation also provides habitat for ducks and butterflies, cover for fish and prevents Canada geese from leaving and entering the streams. Since 1997, we have restored over 3700 linear feet of eroded stream banks.
Our Virtual Streambank Restoration is a quick step by step guide to performing a streambank restoration. Our more detailed model Streambank Restoration: Mud, Sweat and Volunteers is now available. Please order your copy today.
REFORESTATION
We implement reforestation projects primarily to reduce flooding and provide wildlife habitat. The Association’s reforestation projects have covered over 30 acres of land with native trees. Trees clean the air, reduce flooding and provide habitat for foxes, birds and other wildlife. Some of our projects have involved reforestation of wetlands and uplands, which created a much-needed buffer and filter strip between agricultural lands and adjacent waterways. In the 1950s and 1960s, watershed volunteers planted thousands of trees to reforest farmland; in more recent years, over 7000 native, mature trees have been planted.
WHAT TO KNOW MORE OR GET INVOLVED?
For more information on Restoration and Reforestation, contact Peggy Savage, our environmental scientist at 609-737-3735.
