Using Woody Materials to Restore Crooked Creek

In 2021, the Vermont Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy Vermont (TNC), and Habitat Restoration Solutions, Inc. implemented a process-based restoration project in Crooked Creek. They worked with student volunteers to install 9 beaver dam analogues (BDAs) and 15 post-assisted log structures (PALs) to slow water, trap sediment, and reconnect the stream with its floodplain. These structures were built using hand tools and woody material sourced from the site. These restoration techniques are low-tech, low-cost, easy to install, and only require a straightforward permitting process. Post-implementation, the team observed the structures effectively slowing water, trapping sediment, and spreading water into the floodplain.