Featured Projects
Dam Removal & Fish Passage
Fish passage barriers across the United States are being removed or modified to help fish and wildlife, improve safety and boost recreation. We’ve worked on 130+ dam removals, removed hundreds of culverts, and developed best practices resources for bridge crossings.
Estuary Restoration
Estuaries are dynamic ecosystems where oceans, rivers and human economies converge; they’re also critical to rearing grounds for fish and wildlife and at particular risk to a changing climate. Across the country, we’re reconnecting and restoring these habitats.
Thanks to Sonoma Water for sharing this video highlighting more than a decade of working with private landowners and resource agencies in the Dry Creek valley to restore habitat for endangered Coho and Steelhead. To date three miles of Dry Creek have been restored by Sonoma Water with another 3 miles to be constructed in close collaboration with The Army Corps of Engineers.
Inter-Fluve has completed over 2,400 projects. Here’s where we’ve been working.
After just a few years of growth, this is what the FES lifts from our previous post looked like. The plants are starting to take root, and the fabric will eventually break down. The large pieces of wood provide cover for salmon and other species. #habitatrestoration #bankstabilization #bioengineering #riverrestoration #geomorphology #environmentalconservation #environmentalengineering
Fabric-encapsulated soil lifts (or FES lifts) use biodegradable fabric to hold soil in place while native plants take root. As the plants grow and their root networks stabilize the encapsulated soil lifts, the fabric decomposes. The end result is a living, naturally stable streambank that is aesthetically pleasing and provides valuable wildlife habitat. Inter-Fluve pioneered the use of FES lifts in bank stabilization engineering during the '90s, and we still use them on many of our projects.
#habitatrestoration #BankStabilization #Bioengineering #riverrestoration #geomorphology #environmentalconservation #bioengineering #environmentalengineering
Before and after (2010 and 2022). The southern shoreline of Lake Independence, near Minneapolis, was quickly degrading because of strong waves and ice. Inter-Fluve and our partners designed a bioengineered bank stabilization that also provides habitat for fish and other aquatic species. The project won a 2012 Engineering Excellence Award from ACEC Minnesota. #12yearchallenge #BankStabilization #Bioengineering #aquaticrestoration #habitatrestoration #lakelife
In the immortal words of David Lee Roth, "Might as well jump." #salmon #pnw #waterfall
Ophidiophobia is the irrational fear of snakes. Although the vast majority of snakes are completely harmless, they can startle people when you’re doing fieldwork in tall grass. Dress accordingly, and watch where you step. (Survey at Túuši Wána). #riverrestoration #snakes #surveying #touchet
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, today marks the first day of summer. And that can only mean one thing—field work! #hellosummer #wetlandvibes #waders #survey #riverrestoration #geomorphology
In recognition of Icelandic National Day, here's a story about river conservation from 1907.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir (1871-1957) grew up on her family's farm near the Hvítá River in southwest Iceland. She would occasionally guide travelers to Gullfoss, a waterfall that plunges over 100 feet into the canyon below. In 1907, a group of foreign investors rented the waterfall from local landowners, and planned to build a hydroelectric dam across the Hvítá River. This would have submerged the falls.
Sigríður took legal action to protect the falls. She would regularly walk the 75 miles to Reykjavík to meet with her lawyer, Sveinn Björnsson (who later became Iceland's first president). Although their legal efforts failed, Sigríður's cause gained popularity throughout the country, and the hydroelectric project was cancelled.
She is considered Iceland's first environmentalist, and a statue of her stands near Gullfoss to this day.
#onthisdayinhistory #iceland #gullfoss #environmentalconservation #riverrestoration #goldencircle
Happy Thursday! #easternnewt #redeft #wildlife #vermont #amphibiansarecool