Tree Planting on Red Salmon Creek with Nisqually River Education Project

Your Task!Replant native vegetation to re-establish a

healthy Riparian Zone.

Why is the Riparian Zone important?

Riparian Zones Rock!

• Moderates flooding

• Cleans the water

• They provide shade, habitat, and food!

Low-flow channel

Riparian areaFloodplain

High-flow channel

Riparian Zones and Floodplains

• Floodplains are lowlands next to rivers that are subject to floods

Streams Meander• Meander= to follow a winding, bending course.• Causes varying speeds of water• Erosion and deposition

The First People• The Nisqually Tribe

• “Squally-absch”, or “People of the river, People of the grass country”.

• Traditionally lived off the land and rivers

• Salmon are important to their diet and culture.

European Settlers

Modern Life

How does modern life affect wildlife?

Nisqually Watershed Schools

Red Salmon Creek Story

• Land cleared for farming• Landowner Bud works with

community partners to restore habitat

• Property transferred to Nisqually Land Trust

• An important salmon rearing creek

• Drains to vital wetlands in wildlife refuge

Restoration Activities• Re-planting 2.5 acres with the help of students and

volunteers• Trees provide habitat both alive and dead• Plants will improve riparian zone functions• Healthy riparian zone helps more than salmon

Band-tailed Pigeon• Listed as vulnerable• Forage on Cascara and

Elderberry• Nest 10-180 feet off the

ground in trees like Douglas Fir

• Lay 1-2 eggs per brood

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees For SalmonA. Roots hold dirt, preventing erosion which can

smother the redds within the stream.

Photo credit: Redds – WDFW, Salmon eggs – Thomas C. Kline, Jr., Ph. D.

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees For SalmonB. Large woody debris create log jams that provide resting

spots, feeding areas, and hiding spaces from predators.

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees For Salmon

C. Trees provide shade, keeping stream temperatures low; a necessity for the survival of salmon.

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees For Salmon

D. Trees provide oxygen, which is good for not only the salmon but us too.

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees For Salmon

E. Trees provide habitat and food for bugs that are in turn food for the juvenile salmon!

6 Main Reasons We Plant Trees for Salmon

F. Trees use the carbon in CO2 as building blocks to grow, thus becoming carbon reservoirs.

What is a

Native Plant?

Native plant: A species that originated in a given region.

Western Redcedar Thuja plicata Red Elderberry Sambucus racemosa

Indian Plum Oemleria cerasiformi Douglas Fir Pseudotuga menziesii

Grand Fir Abies grandis Black Hawthorn Crataegus douglasii

Cascara Rhamnus purshiana Oregon Ash Fraxinus latifolia

Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus Tall Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium

Shore Pine Pinus contorta Western Hemlock Tsuga heterophylla

Remember,Safety First!

• Walk, don’t run.• Stay in sight of the group at all times.• Shovels:• Sharpened regularly, which makes them dangerous.• Never carry shovels over your shoulder.• Tip should always be pointed towards the ground,

like walking sticks.

Thank you!Liked the presentation? Want to check it out or learn more? Go to our website!

nrep.nisquallyriver.org