Restoration Services

Plant Oregon has been involved in a multitude of Restoration Projects for many years, re-planting Oregon native trees and shrubs along the Rogue and Applegate rivers. We provide a wide variety of riparian restoration and landscape remediation services, including:

-Riparian Restoration
-Wetlands Restoration
-Marsh-wetland remediation
-Bio-swales
-Wet Ponds
-Conjunctive Use Flood Detention Ponds
-Extended Detention Ponds
-Porous Pavement
-Filter Strips
-Water Quality Inlets
-Trapped Catch Basins
-Infiltration techniques
-Sedimentation Ponds
-Contained Drainage Systems
-Riparian area protection
-Tillage Management
-Agricultural Area Management
-Forest Residue Management

Click here to read about one of our proejcts in the news! 

Please scroll through to learn about what we do, and contact us with any of your restoration and remediation needs! 

Wetlands Restoration

Plants are an essential element of riparian area protection.

At Plant Oregon we grow a large selection of riparian and restoration plants in the various sizes necessary for meeting Best Management Practices when dealing with NPS (Non-Point-Source) Pollution.

We stock a large and diverse variety of native plants to help you find solutions for:

-Wetland and riparian area protection
-Construction of Wetlands and Bio-Swales
-Stream, marsh, pond and lake construction

Ponds

Ponds can be an integral aspect of any landscaping or restoration project. We offer many products and services regarding pond construction, including: 

-Construction of conjunctive-use flood detention ponds and extended detention (dry) ponds
-Street and storm sewer systems
-Water quality inlet and trapped catch basins
-Porous pavement
-Filter strips
-Infiltration facilities
-Infiltration trenches 
-Industrial and commercial sites mitigation
-Sedimentation ponds
-Contained drainage systems
-Landscape design for ponds & wetlands
-Riparian area protection

Other restoration services that we offer include:

-Tillage Management Zones around agricultural areas
-Forest Residue Management
-Oregon Land Use planning Water Quality and Resource Management Consultations
-Constructed Wetland Treatments and Maintenance

Marsh-wetlands

A marsh-wetland treatment facility, if well designed, should look like a natural wetland. A forebay or pretreatment unit is necessary to help protect the wetland from excessive sediment loads and other pollutants. The edges, and much of the shallow area, support wetland vegetation and the center area is typically open water most of the year. The area involved may range from less than half an acre to thirty plus acres. Such facilities are generally used as regional facilities to serve developed urban or commercial areas. Marsh wetland facilities are usually larger and shallower than wet ponds and have a permanent or seasonal water surface.

A marsh-wetland:

-Can serve large developments; most cost effective for larger, more intensively developed sites,
-Can provide peak flow control,
-Can enhance aesthetics and provide recreational benefits. The marsh fringe also protects shoreline from erosion,
-Has high pollutant removal capability, including for dissolved constituents if designed properly.

Swales

Vegetated or grassed swales are relatively flat vegetated ditches. The swale cross section is trapezoidal and the side slopes are usually at least three to one. The bottom width is at least three or four feet depending on design-runoff rates. The concept involves spreading runoff over a wide channel to provide biofiltering during low to medium intensity storms. Most facilities are at least 100 feet long and 15 to 20 feet wide at the top. They are most often used to serve private residential and commercial developments in urban areas.

A bio-swale:

-Requires moderate land area,
-Can be used as part of the runoff conveyance system to provide pretreatment,
-Can provide sufficient runoff control to replace curb and gutter in single-family residential subdivisions and on highway medians, 
-Provides an economical approach to urban run-off remediation.

Irrigation is essential for the success of newly planted projects in these hot, exposed locations.

Wet Ponds

A wet pond appears as a depression which contains a permanent ponded pool, often behind an existing road fill or constructed embankment. Wet ponds are deeper than a wetland and typically larger than a sedimentation pond. Treatment occurs through a variety of natural physical, chemical, and biological processes in the aquatic environment.

A wet pond:

-Can provide some peak flow control
-Can serve large developments, most cost effective for larger, more intensively developed sites -Enhances aesthetics and provides recreational benefits Permanent pool in wet ponds helps to prevent scour and resuspension of sediments Provides moderate to high removal of both particulate and soluble urban stormwater pollutants

Preparing plants for planting.

 

Conjunctive Use Flood Detention Ponds

A conjunctive use flood detention pond is similar to an extended detention pond, but instead of a sedimentation pool for low intensity storms, a wetland treatment area is included in the lower portion of the site. It appears as a wetland behind a road fill or constructed berm with a relatively large normally dry area surrounding the wetland. If correctly designed, it can provide the same water quality benefits as wetlands.

A conjunctive use flood detention pond:

-Is designed to also provide peak flow control,
-Can serve large developments; most cost effective for larger, more intensively developed sites,
-Enhances aesthetic and provides recreational benefits if landscaped well,
-Permanent pool in wet ponds helps prevent scour and resuspension of sediments.

Extended Detention Ponds

Extended detention ponds are much like sedimentation ponds, only generally much larger. Since aquatic and riparian vegetation are usually not involved, the fish and wildlife habitat value is usually less than for other types of facilities, such as marshes and wetlands.

An extended detention (dry) pond:

-Can provide some peak flow control, 
-May provide good particulate removal, 
-Can serve large developments,
-Requires less capital cost compared to wet pond, 
-Does not generally release warm or anoxic water downstream, 
-Provides excellent protection for downstream channel erosion, 
-Can create valuable wetland and meadow habitat when properly landscaped.

 

Porous Pavement

Porous pavement appears the same as standard asphalt or gravel pavement but the material is designed to accept water much more readily than other similar surfaces. An infiltration gallery is constructed below the pavement to enhance the infiltration capacities of the facility.

Porous pavement:

-Can be used as part of the runoff conveyance system to contain and slow the water flow, 
-Has low maintenance requirements, 
-Reduces transportation of pollutants to waterways, 
-Cools water draining into streams.

Filter Strips

Vegetated filter strips can be established along a stream, ditch or other water body. Their most effective and efficient implementation is to maintain buffer strips of natural vegetation. Either natural or constructed filter strips should incorporate riparian wildlife values and provide bank stabilization. Filter strips look like landscaped or natural vegetation along both sides of a waterway, lake or wetland. Filter stripes function similarly to vegetated swales, but primarily filter runoff entering the water body. Swales address the water flowing in the swale itself.

A filter strip:

-Can be used as part of the runoff conveyance system to provide pretreatment, 
-Require low maintenance, 
-Provides excellent urban wildlife habitat, 
-Can effectively reduce particulate pollutant levels in areas where runoff velocity is low to moderate, 
-Is economical, particularly if the existing vegetation is preserved prior to development.

Water Quality Inlet and Trapped Catch Basin

Sedimentation boxes are installed along streams, and remove suspended sediments and bed load. Rectangular concrete boxes are recessed along a stream bed or ditch at an elevation which does not change the water surface profile. A number of chambers are provided which encourage bed load deposition and some settling out of sediments, depending on particle size. Sizes can range from 4'x 2'x 20' to 15'x 4'x 50.' The concepts involved are similar to sedimentation ponds but have a completely constructed configuration and are generally smaller.

A water quality inlet and trapped catch basin:

Provides high degree of removal efficiencies for larger particles and debris as pretreatment Requires minimal land area
Flexibility to retrofit existing small drainage areas and applicable to most urban areas.

The crew installing a bio-swale in Medford, Oregon.

Infiltration Trenches

An infiltration trench involves a surface conveyance structure such as a vegetated swale with a high infiltration capacity bottom. Infiltration trenches can be used both in a regional stormwater conveyance system, and on residential lots. They can also be used effectively in commercial areas provided the runoff is not expected to contain hazardous or toxic materials. They are very similar in appearance to vegetated swales and function much the same as other infiltration facilities.

An infiltration trench:

-Provides groundwater recharge
-Can serve small drainage areas
-Can fit into medians, perimeters, and other unused areas of a development site.
-Helps replicate predevelopment hydrology, increases dry weather baseflow, and reduces bankfull flooding frequency
-Acts as a good pollutant removal.

 

Sedimentation Ponds

During normal dry periods, a sedimentation pond is usually a dry depression behind a road-fill or constructed berm. Some provide permanent or semi-permanent pools of water and may resemble wet ponds, though usually smaller. During storms, sedimentation ponds provide a quiescent pool within which the settling of sediments can occur. They vary in size from ¼ acre to up to twenty+ acres depending on the drainage area served. One of the most common applications is at construction sites during construction. They are different from sedimentation wetlands or ponded wetlands in that wetland vegetation is limited or absent.

Infiltration Pond/Dry Wells:

-Provide groundwater recharge, 
-Can serve large developments, 
-Have a high removal capability for particulate pollutants and moderate removal for soluble pollutants, 
-When basin works, it can replicate predevelopment hydrology more closely than other options, 
-Basins provide more habitat value than other infiltration systems.

Contained Drainage Systems

Contained drainage systems are a system concept involving self-containment of development-site drainage. They can reduce off-site impacts to natural or below natural conditions. Contained drainage systems may include such facilities as sedimentation ponds, marsh wetland treatment, infiltration facilities and vegetated swales to improve the water quality and reduce flooding impacts downstream.
 

Riparian Area Protection

This involves protecting streambanks and a vegetated riparian buffer near surface water bodies. Riparian areas provide a natural biofiltration system along stream banks, wetlands, and other water bodies. These areas cool the air and water, reduce erosion, and enhance sediment deposition. Riparian buffers in developed areas are established and maintained through local development ordinances.

 

Tillage Management

In some areas, cultivation or tillage is the major cause of agricultural soil erosion. Some tillage practices increase soil losses through storm runoff and wind erosion. Tillage management refers to techniques used to reduce the erosive effect of water on exposed soils. Reseed any open tilled ground to cover crop immediately after tillage when the land is between crops. The above photo shows one of our fields planted to Barley, awaiting a crop of trees to be planted in the winter. Notice Wagner Creek along the bottom of the field would be vulnerable to the sediment had this been a wet fall and the field left open and exposed to erosional forces.

Agricultural Areas

Livestock holding areas such as barnyards, corrals and pastures can contribute significant levels of pollution to receiving waters. The magnitude of the effect of these sources depends on the size of the area, the number and type of animal and the location with respect to receiving waters. Management practices emphasize minimizing stormwater contact, containing contaminated stormwater, installing runoff treatment systems, reducing livestock densities, and eliminating livestock access to sensitive areas.

Forest Residue Management

Forest harvesting usually results in a large amount of residue, composed mostly of woody debris and understory vegetation. The manner in which the residue is managed can have positive or negative effects on water quality. To reduce surface erosion, it is sometimes best to leave slash after logging without further disturbing the site. The slash material can also be utilized to form skid trail barriers and retard surface erosion. Chipped residues can be distributed over landings and along right-of-ways to reduce soil erosion. Helicopter logging and winter logging over snowpack can greatly reduce damage to the forest understory, leaving the forest's absorptive capabilities more or less intact.

dan@plantoregon.com 541-535-3531, FAX (541) 535-2537 All contents copyright © 1994-2012 Plant Oregon.
Much of the wetlands restoration information on these pages has been taken with permission from NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION: A HANDBOOK FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

Planning Advisory Service Report #476,Chicago: (American Planning Assn. 1997)