Home »
Volunteers help ERA collect trees for restoration work
As winter’s first snowfall blankets the Elk Valley, the Elk River Alliance (ERA) has concluded its 2024 restoration season.
Since early October, ERA’s restoration technicians and dedicated volunteers have been working tirelessly to collect 4,000 cottonwood live-stakes. Thanks to the remarkable efforts of 60 community members, they surpassed their goal by 535 stakes!
Between October and mid-November, volunteers contributed 263 hours under all weather conditions, cutting live-stakes from a thriving cottonwood grove, bundling them, and preparing them for future planting. This fall, ERA’s restoration team planted over 2,000 stakes north of Sparwood, while the remaining stakes will be stored through the winter, ready for planting when the ground thaws in the spring.
Streamside vegetation is crucial for reducing erosion, mitigating flood risks, providing vital habitats, and cooling streams by 3–5°C—an essential factor for aquatic ecosystems. In deforested areas, such as pasture fields, shallow-rooted vegetation erodes quickly into rivers, lowering property values and increasing sediment in waterways.
A study by Keefer Ecological for ERA revealed that 50% of floodplain cottonwood forests have been lost in the Elk Valley. To mitigate this loss, ERA’s cottonwood restoration program aims to plant 30,000 native trees and shrubs across 48 hectares of degraded streamside areas by 2027.
To date, ERA has planted over 8,000 trees. Additionally, ERA field staff installed five grazer-exclusion fences spanning one km this summer, protecting new cottonwoods from elk grazing and trampling across three restoration sites.
ERA invites community members to join in cottonwood planting efforts this coming spring. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities or reach out to [email protected] for more information.
The Cottonwood Restoration Program is made possible by the generous support of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Columbia Basin Trust, and Environment and Climate Change Canada’s EcoAction Grant.
To learn more about this vital program, visit: elkriveralliance.ca/cottonwood-restoration.
Elk River Alliance photo
Elk River Alliance
