Cuivre River Restoration
One of The Land Learning Foundation’s largest streambank restoration projects is almost complete. LLF has been hard at work to stabilize the 25-foot tall banks of the Cuivre River just north of Troy, Missouri. LLF will preserve about a mile of the Cuivre River in perpetuity through conservation easements with four different landowners.
LLF has been using rocks of various sizes to create vanes and weirs which will prevent the soil on the banks from washing downriver. The banks are now sloped at a 3:1 angle. In addition, thousands of bare root seedlings have been planted as a 175-foot buffer back from the edge of the river. These trees were purchased from Forest Keeling and consisted of various species of oaks, walnuts, maples, birch, hackberry, persimmon, and more. The trees were funded by the Lincoln County Soil and Water Conservation District cost-share program. In three different areas along the river, common and swamp milkweed plugs were planted. The milkweed was purchased through the Risberg Grant which LLF received this past spring. The last step is to place willow stakes along the stream bank and spread seed on the slopes.
This additional streambank vegetation will filter runoff before it reaches the river, decreasing the amount of pollutants from a nearby quarry and farm fields reaching the river. The rock vanes direct the flow of the away from the bank and toward the middle of the channel. This will prevent additional sediment from sloughing off into the river. There have already been several Monarch butterfly sightings, giving proof that this project will offer tremendous wildlife habitat along with protecting streams.
