Rebuilding streams, strengthening communities: Watershed and Fish Habitat Improvement Project
The Watershed and Fish Habitat Improvement Project is transforming more than just the flow of Summit Creek in Smithfield Canyon. According to its organizers, it’s shaping the future of ecological restoration in northern Utah through collaboration, education and community engagement.
Led by Joe Wheaton, watershed sciences professor in the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University, the low-tech process-based restoration effort is aimed at reviving stream ecosystems long deprived of natural structure in Smithfield Canyon.
Woody debris jams and beaver dam analogs have a profound ecological impact, according to Wheaton. These simple interventions slow water flow, restore wetland conditions, improve habitat diversity and increase the watershed’s resilience to flood, fire and drought.
“A lot of these streams have been starved of this sort of structure,” Wheaton said. “When they don’t have a lot of wood in there or a lot of beaver dams, they tend to flow and drain very efficiently, but then that also desiccates and drains these valley bottoms.”
To remedy this, students, volunteers and professionals alike gathered on April 12 to maintain beaver dam structures and improve overall stream health at the creek. The project is part of a capstone course for undergraduate seniors and master’s students in ecosystem restoration, giving them hands-on experience in field design and implementation.
“They have assessed and designed a restoration treatment,” Wheaton explained. “They’re directing the efforts today, which includes both maintaining previous structures and building new ones.”
Christina Waddle is in the one-year master’s program for ecological restoration and was one of the students at the event.
“I’ve learned a lot more about how to use the tools and what it actually looks like putting the structures in and meeting in different materials,” Waddle said. “With the class, I’ve gained a lot of experience with how to analyze data — how to look using a GIS [Geographic Information System] or even Google Earth to figure out what your plan is going to be and how you put the structures in.”
Scott Catton, project manager for Trout Unlimited — a non-profit that works to protect, restore and sustain cold-water fisheries and their watersheds — talked about broadening horizons when it comes to stream restoration techniques.
“There has been lots of variations on how people tackle streams that might need a little bit of assistance to get back to acting naturally, and this low-tech process-based restoration is an interesting way to go about it, mimicking how nature would take care of things and kind of just letting the stream do the work and relying on native natural vegetation,” Catton said.
Catton emphasizes the importance of getting out in the field and how projects and volunteer opportunities such as this one are a great way to get hands-on experience. He took the capstone course online and came out to Smithfield for the implementation project.
“I got to meet a lot of people from all over the country in person, which has been great,” Catton said, “And getting to talk to people from various organizations and different backgrounds has been really cool because it kind of just brings a bigger perspective to the work that we’re doing.”
Tyler Coleman, the project’s on-the-ground volunteer coordinator and representative from Trout Unlimited, has been key to mobilizing community involvement.
“I really see the value in engaging volunteers, especially local folks who care about these streams,” Coleman said. “When you come out here, see the trout habitat improving, see more water being held in the landscape — you’re not just fixing a stream, you’re investing in the future.”
Volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, including professionals making a career shift, agency representatives and even international participants.
“We actually have some volunteers from France today,” Wheaton said. “They’re hoping to bring these techniques back home and work with water agencies there.”
The project doesn’t just train future scientists and land managers — it also connects with local communities, according to Coleman and Wheaton.
“We’ve got families out here with their kids — one of the coolest things this year is seeing a seven-year-old help pick a site for a wood jam,” Coleman said. “It’s awesome how intuitive it can be. You don’t need a Ph.D. to know where the water wants to go.”
Wheaton said projects such as these are simple ways to make long-lasting differences for the environment, and volunteering is an easy way to contribute.
“We’ve got a seven-year-old, we’ve got a nine-year-old and we’ve got a four-year-old,” Wheaton said. “The seven-year-old had a better eye than half these people with high degrees for where a structure should go because this literally is just child’s play — you’re throwing stuff in the creek — but it makes a big difference.”
The project works to create many positive ecological impacts, including improving diverse habitats with better water retention in these landscapes.
“For bugs, frogs, elk, moose — everything benefits,” Wheaton said. “And for humans, holding water longer improves flood protection and drought resilience.”
With the recent uptick in national wildfires, this sort of restoration work creates less risk by maintaining water flow in places that usually dry up during dry seasons and drought years, according to Wheaton.
“With all the bad news — fires, floods, climate change — it’s easy to feel overwhelmed,” Wheaton said. “But this shows that we can do something. This is one of those projects where everyone walks away feeling like they made a difference.”
Projects such as low-tech process-based restoration are being done to support stream habitat for trout, which gathers interest from Trout Unlimited, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. This volunteer event was even sponsored by Texas Roadhouse, which provided the team with free barbecued lunch.
“It’s a global movement, but it’s not top-down,” Wheaton said. “It’s all bottom-up. We’ve done over 50 workshops like this. It’s spreading in Canada, the UK, France, New Zealand — this work is taking hold because it’s simple, effective and inclusive.”
Coleman emphasized getting involved and volunteering to gain more experience and help benefit the environment. More information can be found on USU watershed sciences’ and Utah Trout Unlimited’s Instagrams @usu_wats and @utahtroutunlimited.
“The land gives back when we take care of it,” Coleman said. “The people — whether they’re scientists or seven-year-olds — are what make that possible.”