By Gary Lloyd
PINSON — A project two years in the making was completed last week at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson.
Workers and volunteers Friday were busy removing invasive plant species, such as English ivy, wisteria and privet, and replacing them with native plants in an effort to prevent further bank erosion.
The National Wildlife Federation 5-Star Stream Bank Restoration project’s goal was to restore the habitat for the endangered vermillion darter and protect a historic bridge that has spanned the creek since 1919. Preserve Manager Charles Yeager said the creek through the 100-foot by 75-foot work area used to be deep enough to dive into from the bridge, but sediment from development upstream has filled the creek and caused banks to erode. The water is about 6 inches deep in this area now. A gravel bar visible near the bridge wasn’t present a year ago.
The historic bridge that spans Turkey Creek in Pinson
photo by Gary Lloyd
“This is why we’re losing the darter habitat,” Yeager said.
The restoration effort also includes a new set of stone steps from the bank to the water’s edge, in an area that’s currently not open to the public, but might be sometime in the future.
Over the last year, Yeager said, volunteers have worked to clear the privet and wisteria. Two days last week, Action Environmental was on site, finishing the project with the installation of the stone steps for educational programs. More than 30 volunteers were on site Friday to help re-plant the banks with native plants. Yeager called them “incredible professionals.”
Yeager said non-native species such as English ivy, privet and wisteria have shallow roots and when a flood comes through, the soil is washed away. The area was re-vegetated with native plants, plants that should be there naturally to hold the bank and soil in place.
“It’s got a multi-pronged impact,” Yeager said of the project. “It’s got a cultural impact, protecting the bridge. It also decreases further erosion in the future and it also increases the viability of the vermillion darter and hopefully helps protect the populations that are downstream of here.”
Yeager said a project that accounts for about $25,000 now would increase to more than $100,000 in the future had it not been taken care of.
“This is not a massive problem yet, but it will be in the future,” Yeager said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
