JACKSON, Wyo. — The Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) has been named a recipient of a grant to sponsor a project identifying priority areas to install low-tech process-based stream restoration (LTPBR) structures, the organization announced last week.
According to the GYC website, LTPBR is considered one of the most effective tactics for bringing a river back to its natural state; it consists of simple structures, usually made of wood and other natural materials, that are added to a river to mimic organic processes and functions. The National Forest Federation highlights some LTPBR techniques that include Zuni bowls and Zeedyk structures (both natural erosion control methods), one-rock dams and beaver dam analogs.
Kurt Imhoff, Senior Climate Resiliency Associate for the GYC, tells Buckrail that the relatively low cost per mile of restoration due to its simple design, usage of native materials and lack of reliance on heavy equipment make it even more appealing.
The GYC confirms on its website that across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), riverscapes are experiencing widespread change because of drought, recreation pressure, community needs, trapping beavers, diverting and regulating streamflow, straightening river channels, constructing dams and levees and unregulated grazing.
Imhoff tells Buckrail the most common changes include streams becoming straightened, incised and less vegetated along their banks, disconnecting from the floodplain and “severely” reducing ecosystem function. According to Imhoff, what he calls “impaired riverscapes” struggle with resiliency to natural disturbances like floods or wildfires and lead to a loss of species diversity and abundance.
Imhoff points out that, historically, almost all of the GYE’s rivers could be classified as “clean, cold and connected,” conditions that native wildlife adapted to and that benefit downstream communities as well.
“LTPBR, in combination with other restoration methods and management strategies, has the potential to drastically increase the miles of restored rivers and streams in the GYE,” Imhoff says.
But while LTPBR is already being used in the GYE, Imhoff says the rate and scale of its implementation are “far below” the scale of degradation seen in the region’s riverscapes. The GYC is working to figure out how to use LTPBR techniques faster to preemptively and rapidly respond to fire and drought in the GYE; Imhoff confirms that with the new grant funds, the GYC will be able to test that planning framework with a pilot project aimed at providing fire and drought resilience to a degraded river.
The GYC’s website outlines the upcoming project, which focuses on creating a streamlined process for quickly permitting and constructing LTPBR projects immediately after wildfires and identifying and prioritizing watersheds for proactive restoration based on fire and weather risk factors. The GYC considers the pilot project “essential” to implementation across the region.
