October 17, 2016
The 68-acre Little Stranger Creek Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank is under construction, monitoring, and maintenance in rural Leavenworth County, Kansas.
The mitigation bank serves to restore the geomorphic floodplain of Little Stranger Creek from row crop agriculture to wetlands. Most of the site’s wetlands are located in the northeastern and southern portions of the site, hydraulically-connected to local ephemeral flows. Newly established wetland types will include emergent, scrub-shrub, and forested, as planted with a diverse mix of wetland species and woody vegetation.
An unnamed intermittent tributary and ephemeral tributary to Little Stranger Creek are restored to their historic extents based on their referenced downstream morphology. Specifically, the original path of the highly impacted ephemeral stream is restored to approximately 380 lineal feet and the original path of the channelized intermittent stream is restored to around 1380 lineal feet. Wide riparian buffers adjacent to the intermittent and ephemeral streams are planted with diverse native trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs. Also, the riparian buffers along other on-site streams are maintained by utilizing management techniques such as selective thinning and herbicide treatment to undesirable vegetation.
An outer bend of Little Stranger Creek is stabilized with a Longitudinal Peak Stone Toe. A Longitudinal Peak Stone Toe can be used to re-align a channel or constrict an overly wide channel by placing stone along the existing streambed rather than on top of the bank. It is a good choice when continuous bank protection is needed for the toe but the mid and upper banks are relatively stable. The success of the Longitudinal Peak Stone Toe depends on the ability of the well-graded stone to self-adjust or “launch” into any scour holes formed on the stream side of the stone toe.
For more information about mitigation bank design, construction, and monitoring services, contact your local office of Terra Technologies.
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