Have a stream on our property and am looking to stabilize some of the banks from erosion. They're quite sandy. Any advice on something native (perennial) that'll grow?

Often a the plant is only a band-aid on the real issue. Step back and figure out why the bank is eroding in the first place and fix that first.


Whats native to the stream? Best bet is to go look at some stable banks on that river in similar conditions and see what is growing on them and try to match that mixture of plants.


Willow is probably one of the easiest and hardiest things to plant along a river to stabilize the banks.
Rye is a great way to get something on the bank and growing. But it will only last the season. Often used as a cover crop when a more native seed mix is planted.


You local SWCD, NRCS or Extension Office is likely a good source of local information for seed mixes.

Reed canary grass will probably beat ya to it. If you have the equipment or access to it, rip rap in those problem bends would be the best start on a project like this.

Thousands of trees are really the only plant that will stabilize a stream. Don't cut any bush, tree or weed within 50 yards of the bank ever, all those roots work together.
Mike Kelly gives good advice.

Check with your county NRCS office. They will help you with design, permits and sometimes cost sharing.

Use rip rap as your last option. Putting rip rap on an unstable bank generally just means you going to be slowly dumping rip rap into the river. It will get undermined from just upstream or downstream of where the rip rap ends, or underneath it on the outside bends. It will eventually fall into the river and you are back to square one. Plus it is generally the most expensive option!

Trees and deep rooted grasses or shrubs are much better long term because the roots hold everything in place, and have the same or better roughness to break up the flow into the bank. They also grow and heal themselves over time so the bank become more stable as time goes on.

is it the stream eroding he bank or the run off ?

I believe that. The county has dumped tremendous amounts of rip rap and shot stone in local streams as road maintenance and each year for forty plus years the streams eat the stone and the county dumps more. What happens when the engineer in charge is a high school graduate with no other experience.

^^^this

Local Extension Ofc often has great info and offers

Its your chance to get a return on the taxes you pay!

We had a flood here two years ago and the only roots that remained were shumack. Amazing thick (5 to 6 inches) locked up the rocks and are still there. Everything else was washed out. Now this flood was caused by 6 inches of rain in three hours and some trees fell into the creek blocking it so that the water ran over a fame field ans washed out between my house a garage. Where I am is in the hilly part of Pa. Most hils(mountains to some) are 800 feet higher than the roads,,,,,,,jk

There is a difference between Rip-Rap and dumping rock over the edge. if done properly it is the best option and also the most expensive. Reed canary grass will take over your wetland and spread down stream. I would rather have a little erosion than canary grass.

If you do decide to go with willow, just cut a few willow trees down, about 3 foot high. Take a pair of loppers and cut all the thumb size, or smaller sticks into 12 inch pieces. Stick the pieces into the ground, fat end down and they will root and grow.

Keith

Not much of a choice around here. At least the river muskrats eat it.

Mike Kelly has given some professional advice at quite a discount.

I agree 100% with him. Identifying the root cause of the problem will save you lots of money in the long run as erosion at one spot is often times caused by upstream or in some cases even downstream disturbances in the watershed.

There are a number of programs available that can help you with this and possibly provide some financial assistance with no strings. NRCS is a good place to start and if the property is a working farm, you may be able to qualify for some Working Lands for Wildlife grants which are specifically designated for these kinds of projects. If this doesn't meet their mission, they can certainly suggest some other contacts as any stream bank restoration work seems to be a hot topic right now in conservation.

Riprap if you can and search materials that is used for such a purpose. We have some land that is very erodible along river banks. The best thing we can do s hope for dry years so cottonwood and willows have a chance to take off. The problem is we have so much high water they drown before they can get very tall.

So this Is something to think about.
The DNR forestry department has been killing off the willow growth along several trout streams here In Southern WI on several public hunting and fishing areas. They are saying the dense willow growth along the stream banks Is actually removing oxygen from the water In those areas.

Willow's will sprout and take root from cuttings. Cut a willow up into 2' pieces and bury 1/2 of it in the wet ground/sand. Helps if the piece has some leaves on it.

I would start at the U of W Stevens Point extension.
see if they have a program like the one listed below?https://extension.psu.edu/programs/watershed-stewards

Lots of luck!!

pick65

I cannot think of a more natural process than stream bank erosion. You can try to manage it with plantings, but the current will always win in the long run, especially during high water events.