Introduction to Low-Tech Wet Meadow Restoration
Format: Free, virtual & recorded workshop
Audience: Wyoming land managers and partners
Hosted by: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV)
Wet or mesic meadows are rare but disproportionately important ecosystems in Wyoming. Gully erosion and channel incision are widespread problems reducing natural resiliency and water storage capacity, which is impacting wildlife and working lands. Simple, low-tech restoration methods developed for dry lands of the desert southwest by Bill Zeedyk provide effective tools for protecting and restoring meadow systems. These techniques are cost-effective and hand-built allowing more people to participate in restoration.
In this one-day virtual workshop, participants will be introduced to: reading the landscape to recognize meadow conservation opportunities, various low-tech “Zeedyk” structures (e.g., One Rock Dams, Zuni Bowls), project planning, implementation, and monitoring. Regional instructors will share tips and lessons learned from implementing low-tech meadow restoration projects across the West, while Wyoming conservation partners will discuss local opportunities and considerations.
Presenters include:
Shawn Conner, Restoration Ecologist, BIO-Logic, Inc., Montrose, CO | Jeremy Maestas, Ecologist, USDA-NRCS, Portland, OR
Mandi Hirsch, Sagebrush Collaborative Conservation Specialist, IWJV, Kinnear, WY | Leah Yandow, Wildlife Biologist, Bureau of Land Management, Lander, WY
Brian Jensen, State Biologist, Wyoming NRCS, Casper, WY | Ben Bonella, Area Resource Conservationist, Wyoming NRCS, Riverton, WY
Mark Hogan, State Coordinator, Wyoming Partners for Fish and Wildlife, USFWS, Lander, WY
Workshop Recordings & Presentations
Module 1: Background & Purpose
Why and What is Low-Tech Restoration?
Context of Wet Meadow Restoration in Wyoming by Mandi Hirsch
Wyoming Landscape Restoration Activities by Mark Hogan
Module 2: Inventory
Reading the Landscape to Recognize Opportunities
Module 3: Techniques
Low-tech Structures for Riparian and Wet Meadow Restoration
Module 4: Planning, Implementation & Monitoring
Where Should We Work?
Project Implementation
Monitoring and Maintenance
Resources and Reference Materials
Other Technical Resources:
Hand-Built Structures for Restoring Degraded Meadows in Sagebrush Rangeland - Examples and lessons learned from the Upper Gunnison River Basin (Maestas et al. 2018)
Erosion Control Field Guide (Sponholtz and Anderson 2013)
Low-Tech Process-Based Restoration of Riverscapes Design Manual and Pocket Guide (Wheaton et al. 2019)
Let the Water Do the Work: Induced Meandering, an Evolving Method for Restoring Incised Channels (Zeedyk and Clothier 2014)
Additional Zeedyk publication resources (Quivira Coalition)