A Community Coming Together for Riparian Restoration on Rock Creek

Sometimes, the most meaningful restoration projects aren’t just about the environment—they’re about supporting the people and communities that live within it. That is exactly what happened when we partnered with Mary Lawlor, a local landowner on Rock Creek, to start restoration of a section of stream that’s been in need of more trees and shrubs for years. With those changes, she met the Oregon Department of Agriculture requirements to maintain streamside vegetation for water quality protection. Notably, her community came together to go above and beyond what was required.

A Chance to Make a Difference

Mary, who raises free-range chickens and has several llamas and alpacas, needed to complete riparianRiparian areas The land alongside a stream, creek, river, or floodplain plantings to meet Oregon’s Agricultural Water Quality Act standards. Lawlor recognized the value of native plantings to protect the creek from runoff, erosion, and temperature changes, and to improve fish and wildlife habitat. But, she was facing a personal hardship that made it difficult to act quickly and thoroughly without assistance. That spurred the district to jump in and help.

In mid-October, West Multnomah SWCD’s senior conservationist, Kammy, visited the property with Mary to assess the situation. Staff knew this section of Rock Creek would benefit from improved riparian habitat because we visited it under a previous owner. We also believed it would complement the very successful riparian restoration project we had completed, years back, just downstream. We were pleased, therefore, to partner with Mary to start planning right away the desired ecological improvements

Getting Resourceful to Get Things Done

By early November, Kammy had put together a conservation plan, which involved reviewing options with Mary, selecting the best plants for the site, and getting everything lined up for planting. We had been excited to engage a green workforce crew (a team of young people learning to work in conservation services) to help, but schedule issues interfered. Undeterred, Kammy and technicians Shahbaz and Martina harvested 60 branches (aka live-stake cuttings) from the shrubs at a wetland conservation site the District manages.  They then planted these willows, dogwood, and spirea stakes into soil  along Rock Creek, with tools borrowed from the City of Portland to ensure deep planting, so they won’t wash away in floods before they can lay down roots. 

Thus far, the cuttings installed in November have stayed in place through the winter and will hopefully start sprouting leaves in spring. Mary was happy with the results of this fall planting, and we believed ODA would be too, but she and our staff knew there was more we could do both near and not so near the creek, as outlined in the conservation plan.  We had seen the opportunity to create a native plant hedgerow along the fence line and to add trees and shrubs on the steep slope.  So, Kammy reserved for planting in February various bareroot plants and cuttings from an order the district had in place with a local wholesale native plant nursery.

February: Another Opportunity for Restoration

We agreed on February 8 as a second, winter-planting day and Mary invited her neighbors, family, and friends to volunteer.  After researching the pre-made tools available to plant the cuttings deeply, as we did with the first planting, and realizing we needed additional tools if a large volunteer crew turned out, we decided to have a couple custom made.  We collaborated with a local metal fabricator, Mighty Fab, who generously donated the welding, some materials, and even improved on our initial design.

We used these 2 tools to supplement those we borrowed, again, from our friends at the City of Portland and what the volunteers brought.  We were fortunate to tap our connection with neighboring landowners, Rachael Brake and Grant Rolette, who graciously agreed for us to take additional willow cuttings from their habitat restoration site just downstream.

A Successful Community Effort

With over 100 more willow cuttings harvested by our staff at Rachael and Grant’s property, 370 purchased plants ready for planting, and new and borrowed tools in hand, we were all set to go. Planting day arrived, and 23 volunteers—including Mary and her teenage son—joined our staff to plant.  In just a few hours, they installed trees and shrubs along both sides of the creek, a new ~300-foot hedgerow, 25 bulrushes on the opposite side of the creek, shade-loving plants on the adjacent forested slope, and five young Oregon oak trees destined for the open hillside.

The volunteers both planted and tubed the plants — to protect them from potential damage by livestock. The District contributed planning time, plants, materials, and staff labor for three planting days, while friends and neighbors contributed their time and hard work. On the third day, staff re-secured protective tubes to the plants, wondering how they had come off in such a short time, when Hank the alpaca displayed how he pulled them off with his mouth! Hank’s antics aside, we say a huge thank-you to the community for coming together to help!  We were able to accomplish so much together.

A Strong Start for Riparian Restoration

We hope that the work we’ve done with Mary leads to more partnerships with Rock Creek landowners and that the plants establish and flourish.  It has been fulfilling to work with such a receptive, responsive and appreciative landowner in need and to forge deeper connections within the community.  We are excited to see how this project evolves and what else we can do collectively to create a healthier and more vibrant environment along Rock Creek.