Wildfire Resilience Interventions

Stream restoration involves enhancing the ecological health of rivers or streams to support biodiversity, recreation, flood control, and landscape development. It encompasses a variety of techniques and approaches aimed at stabilizing stream channels, reducing erosion, improving water quality, and restoring natural habitats.

There are two primary approaches to stream restoration:

Form-based restoration: This approach relies on physical interventions such as cross vanes, weirs, and engineered log jams to stabilize stream channels and enhance ecological function. These structures help control water flow, reduce erosion, and improve habitat for aquatic species.
Process-based restoration: This approach focuses on restoring natural hydrological and geomorphological processes, such as sediment transport and channel-floodplain connectivity, to ensure long-term resilience and ecological health of the stream. This method aims to mimic natural processes to create a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Stream restoration projects are tailored to the specific needs and conditions of each site and may involve activities like grading and planting, installing woody debris, and creating step pools. The ultimate goal is to restore the stream’s natural function and value, which in turn supports aquatic life and improves overall watershed health.

The sections below feature types of stream restoration approaches: riparian buffer strips, streambank stabilization, and instream habitat enhancement.

Riparian Buffer Strips

Riparian buffer strips are vegetated areas adjacent to water bodies, such as streams and rivers, designed to protect and enhance water quality and provide environmental benefits. These buffers intercept sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and other pollutants from surface runoff before they reach the water, thereby reducing water pollution and improving water quality. Additionally, riparian buffers help stabilize stream banks, reduce erosion, and provide critical habitat and corridors for wildlife. They also offer shade, which is essential for maintaining cooler water temperatures beneficial to aquatic life.

Riparian buffer zones can consist of various vegetation types, including trees, shrubs, and grasses, arranged in multiple zones to maximize their effectiveness. These zones vary in width depending on the specific environmental goals and land characteristics, typically ranging from 35 to 100 feet wide for water quality purposes and up to 600 feet for wildlife habitat.

Streambank Stabilization

Streambank stabilization is a process used to protect and reinforce the banks of streams, rivers, or constructed channels to prevent erosion, maintain water flow capacity, and enhance the surrounding environment. This practice helps reduce the downstream effects of sedimentation caused by bank erosion, and improve the habitat for fish and wildlife, as well as the aesthetics and recreational value of the stream corridor.

Various techniques can be employed in streambank stabilization, including:

Riprap: Large stones or concrete pieces placed along the bank to absorb and deflect the energy of flowing water.
Gabions: Wirework containers filled with rock or other material, used to form flexible, permeable, and durable bank protection.
Revegetation and Bioengineering: Utilizing live plants and their roots to anchor the soil and build stabilizing structures. Techniques include planting grasses, shrubs, or trees, and using live stakes or branches that sprout and grow, further stabilizing the soil as they develop

Streambank stabilization not only protects against erosion but revegetation and bioengineering approaches can also support ecological health by maintaining natural stream functions, providing habitat, and enhancing water quality.

Instream Habitat Enhancement

Instream habitat enhancement is the process of implementing specific interventions in streams to improve their ecological function and water quality. Unlike restoration efforts that aim to return a stream to a pre-disturbance state, instream habitat enhancement focuses on improving habitat conditions within the existing stream structure. Techniques include the placement of materials such as large woody debris, boulders, and gravel to create or enhance habitat features like pools, riffles, and cover structures. These interventions support biodiversity by providing better habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms, improving conditions for spawning, feeding, and shelter.

This practice can involve both physical modifications to the stream channel and the strategic placement of materials to influence water flow and sediment deposition. Structures used in these enhancements include boulder and log weirs, deflectors, root wads, and spawning gravel. These efforts aim to increase habitat complexity, support fish populations, and improve overall stream health, contributing to ecological resilience and biodiversity.

Additional Resources

Additional Resource(s) for Stream Restoration are linked below:

Click on the resource card(s) below for further reading.

Stream Restoration, a Natural Channel Design Handbook

Stream restoration is the re-establishment of the general structure, function and self-sustaining behavior of the stream system that existed prior to disturbance.

Streambank and Shoreline Protection

Streambank and Shoreline Protection are treatment(s) used to stabilize and protect banks of streams or constructed channels and shorelines of lakes, reservoirs, or estuaries.

Wetland meadow restoration involves rehabilitating degraded wetland ecosystems to restore their natural functions and biodiversity. This process includes manipulating the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a wetland to reestablish or rehabilitate its functions. Restoration practices are generally categorized into two main types:

Reestablishment: The rebuilding of a former wetland or meadow to return it to its original condition.
Rehabilitation: Repairing the functions of a degraded wetland or meadow to enhance its ecological health and services.

Specific activities in wetland and meadow restoration may include re-establishing native vegetation, removing invasive species, regrading land to restore natural hydrology, and implementing erosion control measures. These efforts help improve water filtration, flood attenuation, groundwater recharge, and provide essential habitat for wildlife. Restoring these ecosystems not only supports biodiversity but also enhances climate resilience and improves water quality.

Additional Resources

Additional Resource(s) for Wetland Meadow Restoration are linked below:

Basic Information about Wetland Restoration and Protection

Click on the resource card(s) below for further reading.

Principles and Guidelines for Wetland Restoration

This resource covers the principles and guidelines, established in the adoption of Resolution VIII.16 (2002) of the Ramsar Convention.

Sediment control refers to practices aimed at preventing eroded soil and other materials from entering nearby water bodies, thereby reducing pollution and maintaining water quality. These methods are essential in construction and land-disturbance activities to manage sediment runoff and protect aquatic ecosystems. Sediment control methods, which are not permanent, include the use of sediment basins, silt fences, erosion control mats and blankets, terracing, and temporary seeding.

Sediment basins are designed to capture and detain runoff, allowing sediments to settle before water is discharged. Silt fences and fiber logs filter sediment from runoff by creating physical barriers. Erosion control mats and blankets prevent soil erosion by stabilizing exposed soils and slopes. Effective sediment control requires proper planning, installation, and maintenance to ensure that these practices function correctly throughout the project duration.

The sections below feature types of sediment control approaches: erosion control mats or blankets, sediment basins, and terracing.

Erosion Control Mats or Blankets

Erosion control mats or blankets are useful tools for preventing soil erosion and enhancing soil stability. These mats are typically made from biodegradable materials like straw, coconut fiber, wood excelsior, or synthetic materials such as polypropylene. The materials are woven together with structural netting or mesh to form a thick, porous mat that allows for airflow, moisture retention, and plant growth.

Erosion control blankets function by stabilizing soil particles and sediments, holding them in place to prevent erosion caused by water, wind, or other natural forces. This stabilization can also create an environment conducive for seeds to germinate and establish roots, as the mats protect the seeds while allowing the necessary air and water to reach them.

Sediment Basins

Sediment basins are temporary ponds equipped with control structures that capture eroded soil and other debris washed off during rainstorms or runoff events. These basins are designed to protect the water quality of nearby streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, as well as neighboring properties, by preventing sediment from entering these water bodies. Sediment basins achieve this by collecting and detaining runoff, allowing suspended solids to settle before the runoff leaves the site. This process helps to reduce sediment pollution and manage erosion effectively, thereby contributing to environmental protection and site stability. Given the sediment capture benefits, this approach can be applied for post-fire recovery efforts.

Terracing

Terracing involves constructing defined swales at regular intervals along a slope to reduce erosion by capturing surface runoff and directing it to a stable outlet. Terraces, which may consist of earth embankments, channels, or a combination of both, are often created by building earth ridges or berms. This practice is commonly used in conjunction with contour farming, grassed waterways, subsurface drains, and underground outlets.

Additional Resources

Additional Resource(s) for Sediment Control are linked below:

Click on the resource card(s) below for further reading.

Sediment Basin

Sediment basins are temporary ponds with appropriate control structures, used on construction sites to capture eroded or disturbed soil that are washed off during or after rainstorms or other runoff…

Terracing - USDA

A terrace is an earth embankment, channel, or a combination of ridge and channel constructed across a slope to intercept runoff.

Terracing - Storm Water Services

Terracing involves defined swales constructed at regular intervals along the face of a slope designed to reduce erosion by capturing surface runoff and directing it to an adequate, stable outlet.

Prescribed fires, also known as prescribed or controlled burns, refer to the controlled application of fire by a team of fire experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire. Prescribed fires can be used to achieve a variety of management objectives and have many beneficial outcomes, including:

Reducing hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires;
Minimizing the spread of pest insects and disease;
Removing unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem;
Providing forage for game;
Improving habitat for threatened and endangered species;
Recycling nutrients back to the soil; and
Promoting the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants.

Prescribed fire represents a return to indigenous land practices. According to the National Park Service: “For many millennia, fire was integral to many Indigenous peoples’ way of life. Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians used fire to clear areas for crops and travel, to manage the land for specific species of both plants and animals, to hunt game, and for many other important uses. Fire was a tool that promoted ecological diversity and reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfires.”

Additional Resources

Additional Resource(s) for Prescribed Fire are linked below:

Forest management focuses on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health. By enhancing forest resilience to fire, insects, and diseases, forest management helps shape future forests, provides essential wood products, and diversifies local economies.

The sections below feature types of forest management approaches: forest thinning, revegetation, and reforestation.

Forest Thinning

Forest thinning is a mechanical method of removing trees to reduce the density of a forest and restore a more natural forest structure. It is a multifaceted process and often involves piling brush, pruning branches, and creating fuel breaks and can be accomplished with everything from hand tools, chainsaws, and rakes – to heavy equipment such as cranes, bulldozers, and wood-chippers.

Revegetation

Revegetation is the process of restoring or rehabilitating native ecosystems by planting native plants in areas where vegetation has been removed, damaged, or disrupted. The purpose of revegetation can vary depending on the area being rehabilitated, but may include rehabilitating or protecting degraded land, restoring flora and fauna, and enhancing biodiversity.

Reforestation

Reforestation is the process of growing and nurturing trees to maintain healthy, resilient forests that deliver essential benefits such as clean air and water, carbon sequestration, and shade. It accelerates the development of forest ecosystems following disturbances like wildfires, wind events, insect infestations, disease outbreaks, or planned timber harvests. By promoting natural regeneration or tree planting, reforestation supports wildlife habitat, water quality, wood production, recreation, and soil stabilization. Additionally, it helps mitigate the impacts of climate change by conserving tree genetic diversity and sequestering carbon to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Forest Management are linked below:

Click on the resource card(s) below for further reading.

Vegetation Ecology

This document covers; the objectives for the use of native plant materials in revegetation, rehabilitation, and restoration of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; the authority and responsibility for the overall…

Process-based restoration attempts to return a stream to its natural, undisturbed state by mimicking a healthy stream corridor’s natural processes and functions.

Techniques such as building beaver dam analogs and other simple structures help reconnect streams to their floodplains, slow water flow, reduce erosion, and improve habitat for wildlife. The goal is to enhance ecosystem resilience to stressors like drought, wildfire, and flooding, ultimately supporting healthy, functioning landscapes.

The sections below feature types of process-based restoration approaches: beaver dam analogs, large woody debris, and post-assisted log structures.

Beaver Dam Analogs

A beaver dam analog is a man-made structure designed to mimic the natural dams built by beavers. These simple, low-tech structures are constructed using materials like wood and rocks to slow water flow in streams and rivers. Beaver dam analogs help restore natural hydrological and ecological processes, reduce erosion, improve water quality, and create wetland habitats beneficial for various species. By replicating beaver activity, beaver dam analogs support increased water retention, promote groundwater recharge, and enhance ecosystem resilience to environmental stressors such as drought and wildfire.

Large Woody Debris

Large woody debris refers to fallen trees, logs, branches, and other wood materials that are introduced into stream and river systems as part of ecological restoration efforts. These materials play a crucial role in shaping the physical habitat, stabilizing stream banks, and providing essential shelter and feeding grounds for aquatic organisms. The presence of large woody debris enhances habitat complexity by forming pools and riffles, which are beneficial for fish and other wildlife. Large woody debris can be naturally deposited through processes like tree falls, erosion, and landslides, or it can be actively placed in streams to accelerate habitat restoration. This approach not only aids in restoring the ecological balance of aquatic systems but also improves water quality and increases the resilience of watersheds to environmental changes.

Post-Assisted Log Structures

Post-assisted log structures are a key component of low-tech process-based restoration. They are simple, hand-built structures designed to mimic the functions of natural large wood in streams. These structures consist of posts driven into the streambed to secure logs and other woody materials, creating a more stable and complex habitat. Post-Assisted log structures help slow down water flow, promote sediment deposition, and enhance habitat complexity for aquatic and riparian species. They are typically used in conjunction with other restoration techniques such as beaver dam analogues to support ecological recovery and improve stream function.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Process-Based Restoration are linked below:

Click on the resource card(s) below for further reading.

Restoring Large Woody Debris to Streams

Large woody debris (LWD) is an important structural and functional component of stream ecosystems, and can consist of a wide range of types and sizes including logs, coarse roots, and…

Stream road crossing and forest road enhancement refer to the practices and modifications made to improve the functionality and environmental impact of road crossings over streams and roads within forested areas. These practices aim to balance transportation needs with ecological preservation and water management.

Stream road crossings refer to the construction and maintenance of structures like bridges, culverts, and fords to facilitate the passage of roads over streams and rivers. These structures are designed to minimize the impact of roads on aquatic ecosystems, prevent erosion, and ensure unobstructed fish migration and water quality. Proper design, installation, and maintenance are crucial to avoid sediment pollution, fish passage barriers, and other environmental impacts.
Forest road enhancement involves various activities aimed at improving the infrastructure of forest roads to enhance their functionality, safety, and environmental performance. This includes upgrading road surfaces, improving drainage systems, and incorporating erosion control measures such as rip-rap, water bars, and straw bale check dams. Enhancements are designed to prevent sediment runoff, protect water quality, and maintain the ecological integrity of forested areas.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Stream Road Crossing / Forest Road Enhancements are linked below:

Aerial mulching is a land restoration technique used to mitigate the adverse effects of wildfires by stabilizing soil, reducing erosion, and promoting vegetation growth. This method involves the distribution of mulch materials, such as straw or wood chips, from helicopters or other aerial platforms over large areas that have been severely burned. The mulch helps to protect the soil surface from rain impact, reduce runoff, and enhance the conditions for plant regrowth.

For example, following the Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado, aerial mulching was implemented to cover thousands of acres of burned land. This effort aimed to protect watershed values, including water quality and supply, river ecosystem health, and to reduce the risk of hillslope erosion impacting downstream communities. Aerial mulching projects are often part of larger post-fire recovery programs and involve collaboration between various stakeholders, including local governments, federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, and environmental organizations.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Aerial Mulching are linked below:

Invasive species removal involves the systematic identification, control, and elimination of non-native species that cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. These species, which can include plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, often outcompete native species for resources, leading to reduced biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Effective removal strategies include mechanical, chemical, biological, and cultural methods tailored to the specific species and ecosystem. The goal is to restore native habitats, improve ecosystem resilience, and prevent further spread of invasive species.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Invasive species removal are linked below:

In the context of a water utility operating on Forest Service land, land acquisition refers to the process by which the utility secures legal rights or ownership of land or easements from the Forest Service. This facilitates the construction, maintenance, or expansion of water infrastructure on federal property. This process is governed by Forest Service regulations and policies, balancing utility needs with environmental protection and public land management objectives. Water utilities may also acquire private land to facilitate the construction, maintenance, or expansion of their water infrastructure; these acquisitions are governed by rules regulating the sale of private property.

Land acquisitions help protect water quality and supply by preserving critical watershed areas, preventing development that could lead to pollution, and maintaining natural landscapes that support water filtration and storage. By securing land in this manner, water utilities help maintain the ecological health of forested watersheds, ensuring the sustainability of their operations and supporting broader conservation efforts.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Land Acquisition are linked below:

In the context of a water utility managing its water supply on Forest Service land, a conservation easement is a legal agreement between the water utility and a land conservation organization or the Forest Service that restricts specific land uses to protect natural resources and ensure sustainable water supply operations. Water utilities may also secure these agreements with private landowners in the watershed. In either circumstance, these agreements limit activities that could negatively impact water quality, habitats, or other environmental values.

By establishing a conservation easement, the water utility secures the right to manage and access the land necessary for water infrastructure while committing to conservation practices that support ecological health and resource sustainability. Conservation easements help maintain the ecological integrity of forested watersheds, ensuring clean and abundant water supplies by restricting development and land use changes that could lead to erosion, pollution, or habitat destruction. These easements allow landowners to continue traditional uses like forestry, agriculture, and recreation, while providing long-term protection of natural resources. This supports the sustainable management of water resources, benefiting both the environment and the community.

Additional Resources

Additional resource(s) for Conservation Easements are linked below:

Wildfire Resilience Interventions