Project Overview

Location:

Piney River below Piney Lake

The Issue:

Significantly low amount of in-stream pool habitat for fish caused by

• overuse,
• the creation and heavy use of a number of unofficial campsites, and
• unauthorized roads

The Project:

• Installation of instream structures (whole trees) to create fish habitat
• Move campsites at least 100 feet from river
• Reseed illegal roads
• Install two-mile long split rail fence to encourage compliant camping
• Revegetation with transplanted trees and willow shoots
• Monitoring of fish populations
   

Partners:

• National Forest Foundation Ski Conservation Fund
  
• US Forest Service
• SOS Outreach

 

 

 

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Location:

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Piney River Was Being Loved to Death

The reach of the Piney River just below Piney Lake is wildly popular with campers, hikers, horseback riders, photographers and fisherfolk. The Piney River Habitat Enhancement Project, a project of the Eagle River Watershed Council and the Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture, White River National Forest), is designed to restore and improve habitat conditions for fish and animals that live along a two-mile section of the Piney River and adjacent lands just below the Lake. The Piney River is a tributary of the Colorado River and converges with the Colorado just above State Bridge.

 

The photo below is a Google map photo of the area to be restored; Piney Lake is at the right hand side of the photo while Piney River runs across the center of the photo from the lake and just below the road which is the winding light colored line running across the middle of the photo.

 

Google Photo of Piney Lake and West
(The bar at the left bottom represents 4000')
(for a larger photo, open -- Piney River Restoration Area Photo)

 

The Restoration Efforts

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The restoration will improve the degraded visual impact of the land around the river and provide improved habitats for fish and the insects they eat, as well as birds, beaver, deer, elk, and moose. This area was chosen because it contains a significantly low amount of in-stream pool habitat for fish and has been overused by the creation and heavy use of a number of unofficial campsites. A number of unauthorized roads also have been established over the years. Many of the campsites are within the 100-foot water buffer zone and a number of trees have been illegally cut. River banks are deteriorating and pine beetle killed trees threaten human safety.

Specific activities will include:

• The installation of in-stream structures (whole trees) to create pools, cover, and riffles for fish. The trees to be utilized are those that have been killed by the pine beetles. The creation of these in-stream features will give increased protection for fish during spring runoff and shading during the warm summer months.
   
• Closure of the non-compliant campsites within 100 feet of Piney River and the restoration of the land that comprised those campsites.
   
• Designation and construction of campsites that are compliant, that is, greater than 100 feet from the river.
   
• Removal and reseeding of user-created roads.
   
• Installation of a two-mile long split rail fence to deter non-compliant camping and to designate compliant camping sites.
   
• Revegetation of the area with transplanted trees and willow shoots.
   
• Pre- and post-remediation monitoring of fish populations in selected stream reaches and areas.

 

The Forest Service Restoration Work

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Matt Grove of the US Forest Service supervised this phase of the work. Many pine bark beetle killed trees were pushed over so that the entire tree including the root system could be utilized.

 

 

Heave-Ho!	And over it goes!
These downed trees were used in a variety of ways including
Stream bank stabilization
Blocking use of unauthorized roads
Creating cover for fish
Moving downed trees into the river for fish cover and bank stabilization
Logs moved into place along the stream bank.	Tamping down the soil behind the log dam.
The eroded stream bank is then filled in once the log is in place.	Final log stabilization is done with stakes and the judicious use of boulders.
Another technique for bank reconstruction and stabilization is shown in the series of photos below:
Footer logs were used as a foundation along the eroded stream bank.	Trees were placed into the streambank with the root ball exposed for bank protection and fish habitat.
	Boulders were used to anchor the footer log and root wad additions.
The photo above shows tree placement along the bank of the stream with the root end sticking into the river. The root structure will both inhibit erosion while at the same time providing cover for fish. The roots will also catch and hold stones and other debris washed down during Spring runoff to create a more natural look. The trunks are placed perpindicular to the stream to provide an anchoring point. The photo above and right shows the placement of boulders to hold down the trees and also provide additional nooks and pockets. Earth and stones are graded into place to cover and help hold down the trees. The final step will be the planting of willow shoots and other shrubs and small trees. Snowboard Outreach Society (SOS) helped with this phase of the work -- read the story below.
"Before" and "After" photos follow
This photo was taken before restoration. The person in the water is measuring the length of this particular reach of the river.	Whole tree additions provide velocity breaks and cover for fish. Over time, water forced around tree trunks can scour the stream bed and form new pools.
This section of river provides limited cover for fish and has no pool habitat.	Again, whole tree additions will provide cover for fish and may create pool habitat over time.
Through the years a number of unauthorized camping sites had sprung up; these campgrounds were located on both sides of the river and were often too close to the water, that is within 100 feet.	Two miles of fencing was constructed along the road to Piney Lake to discourage would-be campers from moving back into the area.
The ground in many areas had become so compacted that nothing would grow in it.
After dismantling the campsites, the ground was plowed and seeded. Grasses should begin growing next Spring. Even as campgrounds were removed, new ones were created in areas that are located in the area, but not too close to the river.
The Restoration Work Done by SOS Outreach Back to Top
On the 10th of October, Don Golden of the Watershed Council with the help of two US Forest interns, Natalie Rouse and Kris Tunstall, supervised a number of boys and girls from the SOS Outreach and parents in the planting of willows and the transplanting of shrubs and small trees in the area. Everyone worked enthusiastically and a good deal was accomplished. The photo captions have been taken from the Don's report of the planting day.
The Eagle River Watershed Council’s volunteer commitment to the U.S. Forest Service for the National Forest Foundation Ski Conservation Fund grant “Piney River Habitat Enhancement” could not have been a more perfect experience.
"The Forest Service interns, Natalie and Chris, arrived at the Minturn Ranger Station at 8:00 am. They picked up some of their extra shovels and we headed up to the Piney project to meet nearly 50 volunteers from SOS. The weather forecast was incorrect and we had a beautiful, cloudless, crisp fall day. There were half a dozen cars full of SOS kids on the road and more arriving at the gate to Piney Lake a little before 9:00 am. Ben, Dan and Dave from SOS were up there already with a few of the kids. By 9:10 am most everyone had arrived. The SOS guys held an introductory meeting with the kids and stressed the importance of discipline and listening."
	"We separated into four groups, each with two “sherpas” who oversaw a group of perhaps eight kids. Two groups departed to cut willows and the other two groups headed out with Chris and me to dig saplings. "At the sapling site and the kids jumped out of the cars and grabbed every shovel available. We talked about the difference between pines and spruce, which they picked up immediately. "They broke up into smaller groups with one person manning a shovel, another pulling the plant and another member running the transplants back to the USFS pickup. "The kids’ comments were astounding, 'This is fun, are we going to do this next weekend?', 'What else do you do that we can volunteer for?', 'Can they go drop off those trees and can we keep transplanting?', 'Do we have to stop for lunch?!'"
"We finished around 11:20 am and went back to the Piney gate where we met the willow cutting teams. (Photo right) For lunch the kids brought (squashed) sack lunches and something to drink. ERWC supplied cookies, water and apples - in order of popularity – thanks to a contribution from City Market. The kids ate lunch in groups and ran around the meadow. "Around 12:30 a mother arrived with 6 Costco pizzas, a cooler of juice drinks and a 5 gallon thermos of coffee “regular” (with milk and sugar). Squashed lunches were only the appetizer! The pizza was devoured in minutes!" A rebar is driven into the ground near a stream deep enough to hit the water table -- willows like wet feet. Once the hole is deep enough the rebar is withdrawn and a willow shoot about 1 inch in diameter is put into the hole and the soil recompacted around the trunk. It is best to use willows that are at least one year old; all the upper leaves are removed so that the plant initially uses all its energy for root growth.
Return to this web page next year -- we will post update photos that show how the landscape has changed once the plants and grasses have had a chance to establish themselves.

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