July 2004
Trees for Streams Project Is Success Story
by Dorie Belisle
Dorie Belisle was Trees for Streams project coordinator and is a local apple farmer in the Tenmile Creek watershed. Shes also the project manager for the Tenmile Creek watershed restoration pilot program, a community based effort to have healthy streams in the watershed through education, empowerment and financial assistance.
It takes a community to raise a tree! This past March, we saw the community of Whatcom County not only raise a tree, but also raise and replant 5,239 trees along streams that run through Whatcom County. One hundred twenty-one families gave up their Saturdays to plant trees on their property. These are the unsung heroes of stream restoration.
Through the “Trees for Streams” project, landowners came for 10, 25, 50 or 100 trees to replant them along their stream, pond, river or wetland. Over 20 sub-basins were improved—Bertrand Creek, Fishtrap Creek, California Creek, Dakota Creek, Tenmile Creek, Deer Creek, Johnson Creek, Terrell Creek and Whatcom Creek, to name just a few.
Ponds and wetlands now have a greater chance to be shaded. The Nooksack River and the Lummi River now have more trees. This is the third year of the “Trees for Streams” giveaway. It is the intent of the Whatcom Agriculture Community, who sponsors this project, to have “Healthy Streams: Neighbor-to-Neighbor.”
Native trees and shrubs help the land and water in many ways. They help provide a healthy riparian area along the waterways. Many of our low-lying streams are overgrown with reed canary grass—an exotic grass that takes over the stream banks and will eventually grow throughout the stream. This leaves the streams clogged with grass that prevents good drainage of our fields. It also leaves the water depleted of oxygen as it grows, dies and rots in the water. Reed canary grass does not like shade, so trees and shrubs are a natural deterrent to this grass.
Trees and native plants also provide shade over the water, which helps to keep the temperature cool. They provide a natural purification system that takes up extra nitrogen and other impurities to keep our water clean. They provide complexity to our water ecosystem as leaves and branches fall into the water. This “litter” provides food for the important bug life in the stream, which of course provides food for fish. They also provide beauty and a sense of life to us. We know that the trees we plant today will be here long after we are gone.
“Farmers Growing Trees for Salmon”
Local farmers and landowners grew these trees through a program called, “Farmers Growing Trees for Salmon.” For two years they volunteered their land, time and growing expertise to provide healthy trees and shrubs at no cost to the landowner. The participants are Peter and Kim Vlas, Vlas Dairy, Ed Brandsma, Edaleen Dairy, Robert and Debbie Smit, Smit Dairy, Curt Maberry, Curt Maberry Farms, Greg Ebe of Ebe Farms, Cheryl and Larry DeHaan of Storm Haaven Farms, and Kyle and Robin Crowder.
These farmers believe that we can make a greater impact on the health of our streams as neighbors working together than we can alone, waiting for regulation to dictate how big a buffer area we have to give. The small plugs were purchased through a grant from WSU–Cooperative Extension to improve water quality in Whatcom County and to encourage stewardship at no cost to the landowners.
The native shrubs were grown by the Lynden FFA (Future Farmers of America) in their horticultural program where young students learn about native plants, how to grow them and their benefits along the streams. The labor for the month long project was provided by the Meridian FFA. Over 100 hours of volunteer time went into digging the trees at the various fields, hauling them to the distribution point and helping on the days of the giveaway. The success of this project would not have happened without these young men and women.
The “Trees for Streams” project was made possible through a grant from the Whatcom Conservation District and the Washington state Department of Ecology.
Over 5,000 trees are now growing on two Whatcom County farms. They will be ready to be transplanted along your stream. Make plans this summer, so you too can participate in the “Trees for Streams” tree giveaway. For more information call me at 398-9187. Our watersheds are important to us and to our grandchildren. We can all make a difference. §
