A little background on this pasture... Five years ago, this was a degrade stream. The channel itself had been incised (cut down into the ground) and the crossing (not seen) under the road had made fish passage impossible.
This poor stream was the result of the government coming in and straightening it- NOT IMPROPER GRAZING. Back in the middle of the 20th century, the army corps of engineers thought streams should be straight without the meanders and curves. Doing so, increases the amount of power behind large water events, like spring run off. Thus, they take out large portions of the bank and dig deeper into the soil, reducing the water table.
Putting the stream back on top of the meadow, and increasing the amount of curves in it, reduces the power of the water and rises the water table. As you can see here, vegetation is abundant. This pasture actually needs to be grazed much harder than it is. The grass is starting to mat and the vegetation is getting decadent, reducing its potential for wildlife habitat.
How did you put "the stream back on top of te meadow"? I can sort of understand how they straightened it, I sould think putting it back would be harder.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what we thought was right, only a few years ago has proven to not be as "right" as we thought. Keep posting!
ReplyDeleteLittle Apple, I think you would just divert the water to a new smaller winding waterway and let nature take it's course.
Pretty much what Jinglebob said. They divert the creek from its orginal channel, gave it some general direction and allowed it to meander through the meadow the way god intended.
ReplyDelete