Methow Watershed Riparian Stewardship II

This project supported riparian maintenance at six sites along the Methow River. The sites were originally planted as part of river fish habitat restoration projects. Maintenance was intended to support the establishment of native riparian species in appropriate areas in order to re-establish appropriate plant communities in the sites. Healthy riparian stands are known to provide important ecosystem services that ESA-listed salmonids as well as the riverscapes they depend on. Unfortunately, re-establishing riparian communities is difficult especially in dry parts of eastern Washington like the Methow Valley where channelization of rivers and creeks has resulted in reduced ability of plants to access ground water. Where irrigation water is available, MSRF has had increased success in establishing a healthy riparian buffer with supplemental watering in addition to mulch and weed control. Sites without water have struggled even with browse protection, mulching and weed control.

This MSRF riparian project maintained plantings at eight project sites: Whitefish Island (WFI), Barkley Bear/ Porter, Barkley Bear/ Borgersen, M2-3R, WDFW Floodplain Breach, Plummer Springs Bench, Twisp River Floodplain, and Old School House. Each project site was visited in the spring to update the maintenance plan and assess survival and establishment.

Conduct stewardship activities at previously planted riparian sites in the Methow River basin, thus increasingthe growth, establishment and survival of plants and securing the previous investments. Establishing riparian communities supports ESA-listed spring Chinook and Steelhead at the project scale.