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Felling trees for fish habitat

Oct 16, 2024

Employees from the Cody, Lander and Worland field offices came together recently in BLM Wyoming’s Sweetwater Canyon Wilderness Study Area to improve riparian habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Three people prepare to cut down a conifer using hand saws. — Staff prepare to fell a conifer using hand tools.

A tributary of central Wyoming’s Sweetwater River, Willow Creek requires attention in a couple different ways. First, conifers are encroaching on the riparian area, possibly due to fire suppression over time and/or downcutting of the stream channel.

“There are several locations where conifers are outcompeting native shrubs like willow, red osier dogwood and chokecherry,” said project manager and BLM Fisheries Biologist Steve Clark.

Additionally, some portions of the Sweetwater River are experiencing excessive sedimentation. BLM and Wyoming Game and Fish Department staff looked at the river’s tributaries for the sources of the sedimentation. Willow Creek, easier to access than other tributaries, was chosen as the starting location to address this problem.

Pre-selected conifers were directionally felled into Willow Creek to mimic natural log jams and provide structure to the stream channel, with the intent of capturing sediment upstream of the trees and reducing sedimentation of the Sweetwater River.

A person holding a hand saw and wearing an orange hard hat leans against a tree. — An employee is ready to get to work on felling this tree.

Removal of the encroaching conifers will also increase available water for native shrubs and increase the quantity and quality of water downstream for fish and other species of wildlife. Hopefully, the improved habitat conditions will entice beaver in the area to build and maintain dams at or near the felled trees.

A person wearing a hard hat and holding a handsaw stands next to a tree he has just cut down. — An employee stands next to a tree he has just cut down.

The Willow Creek restoration project was truly a group effort. “I thought it was cool that the project involved staff from all three field offices in the district and that we had folks from seasonals on up to managers helping,” said Clark.

A group of people holding handsaws pose for a photo in a scenic area outdoors. — The Willow Creek restoration project was truly a group effort.

The group cut about half of the trees targeted for the project. Next, staff will monitor the area for the next year or two to see how the stream channel responds to the trees following high flow events. Any lessons learned will be implemented into the second phase of the project.

“I’m excited to see the results of the project over time,” said Clark.