A healthy cottonwood forest, and the streams within it, benefit a range of British Columbian species, including grizzly bears, blue herons, rubber boas and westslope cutthroat trout. The Elk River Watershed Alliance is undertaking a four-year project on 47 hectares along the Elk River to plant around 20,000 cottonwood live stakes and 8,000 native understory seedlings. It will also install animal-exclusion fencing to keep out animals like elk and cattle and allow young vegetation to grow.
“The goal is to improve the value of cottonwood habitat, connect floodplain cottonwood ecosystems and mitigate floods in the Elk Valley,” said Chad Hughes, Executive Director. “The project also aims to indirectly improve the functioning of aquatic ecosystems by creating shade to reduce stream temperature, reducing erosion and naturally introducing large woody debris to provide habitat for fish and aquatic wildlife, plus food and building materials for beavers.”
