New Adventures in Bioengineering, Willow Curtains & Willow Poles

New Adventures in Bioengineering,Willow Curtains & Willow Poles Note: REM put out an album a few years called “New Adventures in Hi-Fi” and I firmly believe that Rock and Roll and bank stabilization are in exorbitantly linked! "....Like a river that don't know where it's goin', I took a wrong turn and I just kept goin'...." From "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen

BIOENGINEERING: The use of living plant materials to stabilize streambanks Most bioengineering gives Mother Nature a jump start (plant those native species, tall, short, fast growing, slow growing, etc.)

ADVENTITIOUS ROOTING PLANTS NEED TO BE PLANTED WHEN THE PLANTS ARE DORMANT {AFTER THE LEAVES HAVE DROPPED & BEFORE THE LEAF BUDS APPEAR IN THE SPRING}

Don’t plant your plants upside down, they do not always grow!!!!!!

Adventitious Rooting Plants(when trunk or branches are in contact with soil the plant will sprout roots) • Banker’s Willow-Salix x cottetii, Streamco Willow-Salix purpurea, Black Willow-Salix nigra, Pussy Willow-Salix discolor, & Crack, Autumn etc. • Red Osier Dogwood-Cornus stolonifera • Silky Dogwood-Cornus amomum • Buttonbush-Cephalanthus occidentalis • Sycamore-Platanus occidentalis • Cottonwood-Populus deltoides • Box Elder-Acer negundo • Speckled Elder-(bark was scarred)- Alnus rugosa • Elderberry-Sambucus Canadensis • Elm-Ulmus Americana • Bois d'arc, Mock Orange, Bow Wood, Hedge Apple, Horse Apple, Osage Orange- all are Maclura pomifera. • River Birch- (Betula nigra) • Black Locust- (Robinia psedoacacia) • Northern Catalpa- (Catalpa speciosa) • Mulefat- (Baccharis salicifolia) Anyone know of any others???

The Willow Curtain Method(Dave’s Easy Wattle) Description: Horizontal placement of anchored willow tree trunks in a shallow trench positioned near water's edge. Can be placed on benched areas at heights just above the low-flow water surface elevation, or on the point bar (in low sections or near the edge) to increase flow resistance and reduce the impact of concentrated flow on the eroding outer bank. • Can be accomplished with no mechanized support. • Very inexpensive, simple to understand and execute, and quick! • Anchor with dead stout stakes or live stakes. • Five 20 ft. long willows will cover 100 ft of stream bank. • A two man crew installed 300 lineal ft. of curtains in 3 hours. • Need to be installed in areas with sufficient moisture. • This WES developed technique is currently considered experimental. Mini case study: 1 of 9

Mini case study: 2 of 9

Use cut branches as live stakes Mini case study: 5 of 9

Wayne Kinney, NRCS, retired, or just tired, working hard, (hey, someone has to take the pix) High flow Rocky Fork Branch of Piasa Creek, Alton, IL Mini case study: 6 of 9

Rocky Fork Branch of Piasa Creek, Alton, IL Mini case study: 7 of 9

Dave’s Willow Pole Method(The Quick & Dirty Fascine) Description: Anchored willow tree trunk placed with the butt end buried below the water surface at the toe of the eroding bank, trunk positioned up-bank in a shallow trench. Water is supplied at base, roots grow from trunk which is in contact with the soil all the way up the bank, with branches sprouting along the entire length of the "up" side of the trunk. • Inexpensive, simple, and quick! • On eroding banks should be used in combination with redirective methods or toe protection. • Can be accomplished with no mechanized support, excellent for areas where equipment access is limited or prohibited. • Expensive auguring equipment is not needed. • Anchor with dead stout stakes or live stakes. • This WES developed technique is currently considered experimental. Mini case study: 1 of 6

Big Blue River, Manhattan, KS. Mini case study: 2 of 6

Osage Creek @ Tim Roger’s place, AR Mini case study: 1 of 10

Osage Creek digging a hole for the willow pole, 9-23-2005 Mini case study: 2 of 10

Osage Creek, Jan 2006, water-loving adventitious plants need to have their basal ends in the capillary (vadose) zone Mini case study: 3 of 10

Osage Creek - willow pole placed in hole & backfilled, 9-23-2005 Mini case study: 4 of 10

Osage Creek use either live stakes or substantial wooden stakes for securing the willow pole, 9-23-2005 Mini case study: 5 of 10

Osage Creek, willow pole staked down, 9-23-2005 Mini case study: 6 of 10

Osage Creek, close-up of willow pole staked down, 9-23-2005 Mini case study: 7 of 10

Soil placed around willow pole Osage Creek, willow pole staked down Mini case study: 8 of 10

Looking DS, Osage Creek, willow poles just placed Mini case study: 9 of 10

It’s not a bad idea to scrape a little bark off the pole-9-23-05 Good growth by Oct 21, 2005. Unfortunately, I have never been back to this site Mini case study: 10 of 10

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS !!!!MONITORING WILL CONTINUE

New Adventures in Bioengineering, Willow Curtains & Willow Poles