Native willows and dogwoods make good streambank stabilizers
because they grow quickly, form thickets, and adapt easily to
wet conditions (they merely "flatten" during flooding). So the
New York State Department of Transportation planted cuttings
from dormant willows and dogwoods along a 1,000-foot section of
Sawyer Creek, which had been relocated for the widening of
Niagara Falls Boulevard. Cuttings were layered on the stream
bank and fascines (stems and branches of rootable plant material
tied together in long bundles) were placed in shallow trenches
and anchored with live stakes. Most of the plantings survived,
and the vegetated, stabilized stream bank has helped keep runoff
and sediment from entering the water, benefiting the creek's
Northern pike, brown bullhead, and other warmwater fish species.
The willow-dogwood "buffer" has also provided habitat for wood
and mallard ducks. --Apr 25, 2003 |New York State Department of
Transportat photo| |Stabilizing the banks of Sawyer Creek with
willows and dogwoods|