converting a low spot to a creek

Paul: Question about creek restoration - do you have a related podcast, or will this one happen it situ
Are you thinking of laying cobble or stones in the bottom? Planting some kind of native/or not, short and tall shade-making covers to cool the soil? Will the well be upstream?

These might be too many Q too soon.
I am intrigued.

Kathy J.

I cannot remember if I have conveyed this to a podcast. The video with mark vander meer touches on it a bit.

I think that in a podcast I did with jack spirko - jack refers to the three inch deep lake throughout the forest. That kinda covers some of it.

I am thinking that I will run a video camera up the length of the lowest spot where sometimes you get the idea that there might have been a creek 50 years ago. But I was up there after heavy snow followed by heavy rain and there was nothing resembling a creek.

I plan on putting in a creek.

Thanks I will look for the Spirko pod. Vander meer is a wizard. Soil structure rules. If you are able to determine the age of the seedlings/saplings in the creek bottom you might get a fix on how long it has been dry. I suspect that the uphill snowpack isn't what it used to be? What is uphill from there? I mean in the way of mountains and 'intact' forest and other creeks or drainages.

No need to answer really, maybe I'll find out soon enough.

KJ

As for what is uphill: I intend to do a bit of looking in that direction.

In general: establishing a proper creek is a multifaceted thing. Dominantly it will be increasing the organic matter and vegetation in the watershed, plus digging out the sediment that has racked up in the last 100 years from poor logging practices.

Might be a good area for a podcast with Craig Sponholtz who is speaking at permacultureVOICES. He does a lot of work in the area of watersheds and stream restoration.

Craig Sponholtz - Dryland Solutions