BY KAREN BOSSICK

“Rad.”

That’s the word Liz Pedersen uses to describe tributary restoration.

“Tributary restoration is really, really rad, and is a great way to engage with people on low impact restoration projects,” said Pederson, annual fund manager for the Wood River Land Trust. 

Many of the restoration projects on the Big Wood River need to be completed using heavy equipment to reverse historic bad practices like filling floodplains with fill and channelizing the river, she said. Because the Big Wood is so complicated, restoration projects are hard to get 'hands on' with.  

But, enter tributaries!

“Tributaries are smaller than the main channel of the Big Wood, and offer unique opportunities to use low-tech, hands-on restoration techniques.  We try to mimic natural processes, like building mock beaver habitats.  We've found that people are VERY excited about tributary restoration,” she added.

Tributary restoration is nothing new for the Wood River Land Trust, said Pedersen. The Land Trust’s beginnings were rooted in the acquisition and restoration of the iconic Boxcar Bend Preserve just north of East Fork Road in 1996.

To acquaint Wood River Valley residents with tributary restoration, the WRLT has invited Brian Cluer to discuss new cutting-edge restoration techniques. Cluer, fluvial geomorphologist for the NOAA Fisheries-West Coast Region, will discuss “Restoring Tributary Health to Stage Zero” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at The Community Library.

Cluer and his colleagues have spent decades figuring out how to mitigate stream degradation using in-channel techniques to add habitat elements and increase some natural processes with such tools as reintroducing beavers.

After Cluer speaks, Ryan Santo, the river initiative director for the WRLT, will talk about the work the Land Trust is doing to restore the Big Wood River to a world-class trout fishery. Both Cluer and Santo will take questions from the audience and provide ways for listeners to get involved.

The talk is part of the Land Trust’s Thinking Globally, Acting Locally speaker series, which is a partnership between the Land Trust and The Community Library. To register, visit https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/8425190