CREP Project

In the spring of 2011, through a fairly random chain of events, we were put in touch with the CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) office in Whatcom County. I'd seen their signs (and blue plastic tubes) around big wetland restoration projects, but I didn't realize they also did smaller projects. It turns out that our property was a perfect candidate for restoration - in fact, the "pangborn muck" (yes, that's the technical term) in our swamp is especially desirable.  No kidding.

 Not only do they pay for the work, but they'll pay us "rent" for 15 years as well! It took a bit of paperwork and a couple meetings, but overall it was really easy to get set up with them. The people involved are all really friendly and took the time to answer all our questions, even the ones we felt kind of silly asking. It's been a great experience so far, and we haven't even gotten paid yet! :)

 The site prep work started last fall, with the rather spectacular removal of the blackberry patch at the east end of our property. We went to work one morning and came home to find that suddenly we could walk right to the banks of the pond! I still don't know exactly how they managed to remove all those blackberries (and haul away all the debris) in a single day. Frankly, that alone was worth signing up.

 Then in October/November they cut large swaths through the impenetrable spirea thicket, and planted willows in the watery muck underneath. It's an impressive feat of landscaping.

 Now this week they are back, finishing up the planting of the field and stream bank areas. There are a LOT of little blue tubes out there!

 

 

 

All in all, the planting list calls for 1,875 trees and shrubs to be planted on the 3.9 acres we enrolled in the project.  The specific plant list, if you're interested, is:

•  300 Red Osier Dogwood 
• 100 Pacific Ninebark 
• 100 Black Twinberry 
• 800 Hooker Willow 
• 150 Western Red Cedar 
• 100 Shore Pine 
• 125 Sitka Spruce 
• 50 Oregon Ash 
• 50 Quaking Aspen 
• 50 Nootka Rose 
• 50 Snowberry 

The evergreen trees will be mostly clustered up around the eastern end of the property, where the blackberries used to be. Our original mitigation planting is part of the enrolled CREP area, which not only means that they will plant some more items in that area, but best of all, they will take over the maintenance of it! In fact, they will maintain all the plantings for 3-5 years, coming out annually to cut back the brush and grass until the new plants are thoroughly established.

It's really an amazing program, and we're really glad to be involved in it.

Beavers

We apparently have beavers. We haven't seen any beavers; nor have we seen any fallen trees or chewed logs. But what other creature would build a dam this substantial?
Last year we battled some kind of dam critter, but it never really approached this level of engineering, so we had hoped it was just a muskrat. Now I'm thinking maybe it was an inexperienced beaver, and he spent the winter really perfecting his dam building techniques.
This spring's dam is situated in a more critical spot on the stream, and is much higher than anything he attempted last season. We're seeing a real change in the water table around our place, as the spring rains are caught in the swamp and backed up behind this dam.

This is the second time this week that we've dismantled it. As you can see from the below pictures (taken just downstream from the dam site at the bridge), the water level really comes up in the stream once the dam is removed.

That's the same tree in the center of these two shots, the second one was taken about an hour after the dam was removed on Saturday. The water came up about a foot, and looked like it would continue to flow at that level for at least 24 hours before the water level would come down in the wider area.

Notice that I said "looked like it would continue" above. After the dam was removed Saturday afternoon, the critters completely rebuilt it Saturday night. Sunday morning it was as if nothing had ever changed. Not knowing what else to do, we removed it again... although I suspect that tomorrow morning it will have reappeared. I'm not sure what we can do, realistically, to prevent beavers from building dams. I guess the hope is that we can hassle them enough that they will move the dam back into the swamp where it will (hopefully) not back the water right up into our backyard.

Spiraea

Also known as Hardhack and Steeple-Flower, spiraea douglasii is a common native wetland plant in our area. It is the dominant species in much of our swamp, and this time of year it is in full bloom.
Looking down from the observation platform, the swamp looks like a lush meadow sprinkled with bright spikes of fluffy pink flowers. But as is so often the case, looks can be deceiving. It's actually an impenetrable thicket, a thick, 8 foot high tangle of small woody stems growing over the soggy and uneven ground. No frolicing in this "meadow"!

Spirea is often thought of as a nuisance plant. It's a common weed in my flower beds and garden, and has to be cut back away from outbuildings, trails and driveways every year. It's vigorous, opportunistic, and tolerant of just about any growing conditions. In its proper place, however, it's a magnificent plant, and I am really enjoying the blooming of our swamp this year.