Upper Luckiamute Willow Staking

Since 2011, the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) has been working with landowners along the main stem Luckiamute River to control knotweed (Fallopia bohemica) which had established extensive monocultural patches. Through targeted knotweed control and revegetation efforts, the size and extent of knotweed patches have been substantially reduced. As a result, some areas that had the thickest knotweed patches were devoid of woody vegetation and exposed to erosive forces and / or weed encroachment. Through this project, LWC contractors installed approximately 2,500 willow stakes on 2.9 acres along the upper Luckiamute River in 2015 and 2016. Cuttings were harvested from nearby sources in the upper Luckiamute. Several willows are now established, stabilizing banks and providing shade. Planted willows are expected to continue to grow and provide long-term shade, continue to resist erosion and enhance fine and coarse woody inputs into the river system.
The reduced cost for the completed project was due to a) reduction in contractor hours spent on willow staking, and b) reduction in the cost for project management due to reduced contractor hours.

Upper Willamette River steelhead and lamprey utilize this reach of the Luckiamute. Revegetation of low lying areas and edges of the stream channel in the form of willow staking improves water filtration from agricultural and rural-residential run-off, provides essential shade to the stream channel keeping in-stream temperatures low, combats the spread of noxious weeds, contributes nutrients to the aquatic system, and stabilizes soils in areas where erosion is excessive and contributing to high levels of suspended sediment in the water column.