Some previous earth moving along the stream running through the front 40 acres of the farm created some issues that needed correction. Topsoil pushed from the fields into berms along the stream caused water to accumulate in the fields resulting in vast boggy areas and an overgrowth of sandbar willows. Every time a gully washer rainstorm cycled through the stream would jump the banks in certain weak areas, flood the fields and carry large amounts of topsoil away leaving behind sand, gravel and rocks. It was a real mess.
Restoration evolved redoing the entire stream corridor. Willows and other trees were removed to reclaim what used to be part of the fields. Then the stream banks were re-sculpted with heavy equipment, certain areas reinforced with stone and other areas dredged out. Finally the banks were hand seeded with a grass and clover mix and then mulched with straw. The entire job was labor intensive but well worth the effort.
The steam can rise and fall within its banks whenever a big rain comes and all is well. Instead of a rapidly developing marsh on both sides of the stream and a lot of erosion we have lovely, much larger, stable pastures with a beautiful riparian interface between the land and the gently flowing and meandering stream. A backwater refuge and wildlife conservation area on the west end of the stream offers home to turtles, ducks, frogs, cranes, songbirds and many other species that inhabit wetlands.