Restoration of Riparian Trees and Shrubs on the Rio Grande Canalization Project

USIBWC and the USFWS collaborated on habitat improvements for fish and wildlife on the Rio Grande Canalization Project (RGCP). USIBWC implement habitat restoration at 22 sites covering 509 acres to reduce saltcedar and increase native riparian vegetation. Restoration also included mitigating channel maintenance activities that impacted vegetated islands. FWS and contracted restoration teams adopted a variety of planting methods, including augering holes for poles, excavating trenches for poles, and transplanting willows with root balls and topsoil intact into trenches dug down to groundwater level. Tree survival rates were typically over 75%, while shrub success varied from 10% to over 95%, so replanting was required in some areas.