Agraria_Journal_WINTER_2022

In September, the Jacoby Creek restoration project hit a major milestone when the construction portion hit the 50%-complete mark. All summer long, large equipment crisscrossed the 60-acre conservation area on Agraria in the process of re- meandering the creeks and carving out wetland areas. After the heavy lifting, habitat structures were put in place, and native grasses were planted along the new stream banks. The Nature Conservancy is leading the 10-year, $2-million effort, and took a tour of the site in September along with the engineering firm Biohabitats, which did the design, and construction firm, Environmental Remediation Contractor. They shared some interesting features of the design, including the use of tree snags for raptor perches, a willow thicket along a stream bank made with fascines, or bundled willow stems, and hills and hummocks in the excavated wetlands. All the trees that had to be cut down were used in the design. “The big goal of this project,” said TNC’s Devin Schenk, “is retention of water, restoring the aquifer below Agraria, and re-establishing all of the waterways so that the stream runs year-round.” Initial construction is slated to be complete by mid- December, and the focus will shift to planting and monitoring 30,000 native trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses in an area that will serve as habitat and a food forest. Agraria will add more fruit- and nut-bearing trees in an extra buffer area. Schenk believes these features make the project, TNC’s fifth in the state, distinctive. “What’s unique in this instance is that we’re not just restoring the streams and wetland footprint, we’re also restoring the buffer around those to really robust levels and bringing it back to Midwest forested land,” he said. “The other part is the two-tiered buffer approach. The extended buffer is a place where Agraria can practice some management and harvest from it. That to my knowledge has never been done before.” ~Megan Bachman DENNIE EAGLESON Jacoby Creek now has riffles, runs, and pools of water, all designed to slow the water down as it meanders its way through Agraria, improving habitat for aquatic life and preventing erosion along the stream bed. 32 AGRARIA JOURNAL 2022 Jacoby Creek Restoration Takes Shape