Enhance Fish, Riparian, and Wildlife Habitat Within the Red Watershed

A natural channel design is used to restore physical and biological processes to improve the quantity and quality of fish and wildlife habitat. Reconnecting historic meanders and reshaping channel cross sections have increased sinuosity by 60 percent, decreased gradient by 40 percent, decreased width to depth ratios, enhanced floodplain function, and improved soil moisture conditions for 91,000 native riparian/wetland plantings. Long-term monitoring of the 2.5-mile stream reach is documenting changes in ecosystem structure and function.