Service Biologist Susan Wells and volunteers attach a coir log to the toe of the creek bank to reduce sediment entering Crane Creek on the Ottawa NWR.

Volunteers plant native vegetation along the cree bank to reduce sedimentation.

On Sept. 24, the Alpena Fishery Resources Office (FRO) and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) hosted a National Public Lands Day that included a small scale habitat restoration project.  This project is an extension of what was completed last year during the 2003, 2004 National Public Lands Day event.  A group of volunteers applied bank stabilization techniques along 140 feet of Crane Creek.  Soft engineering techniques were utilized during the project. Materials utilized for this project included coconut filter fabric, coir logs, and native live plants and seed mixes.  The materials used are completely biodegradable, within a five year span, after the vegetation has been established.  

Crane Creek is a low gradient stream which flows through the refuge and empties into Lake Erie through a flooded river mouth.  The creek provides habitat for migratory birds and Lake Erie fish species and is a vital link between the refuge and the lake.  Bank stabilization techniques used in this project will enhance the habitat and reduce sedimentation into the creek without the use of large rock. 

Examination of the 2003, and 2004 sites showed that although the bank was dominated by thistle, native grasses such as big blue stem as well as forbs, were also present and beginning to dominate in the area that was completed in 2003.  Within the next two years the native vegetation is expected to out compete the thistle and provide stabilization roots for the bank as well as food and cover for wildlife.