Streambank Stabilzation

Yampa River near Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Due to past management practices, this riverbank lacked woody vegetation and was held together by several automobiles laid at the toe of the bank. Kingfisher Consulting removed the junk vehicles, and replaced the eroding banks with stepped layers of soil encapsulated in a biodegradable coir fabric. The soil lifts were seeded to appropriate vegetation species, and thousands of 4’ long willow shoots were placed between the lifts. These act as both a geomorphic agent in spoiling current velocities during high flows, and as a habitat agent providing cover, litterfall, and shading during normal flows.