Bulkley River Bank Stabilization and Riparian Rehabilitation - Telkwa

The project was conducted on a privately owned site (Wittwer Ranch) around 4km upstream from Telkwa, northern BC. The goal of the Bulkley River Bank Stabilization and Riparian Rehabilitation Project was to re-establish a stand of native riparian zone plants immediately adjacent to the Bulkley River. The site for treatment was a (650m) strip of exposed and eroding riverbank along the Bulkley River. The project took place on a privately owned property. The land at the site was originally cleared for the rail town of Hubert in the early 1900's. The land eventually became grazing land and has been maintained for agricultural purposes till the present day. In recent years extensive erosion has taken place at this site. Alternative methods to classic riverbank armoring with rock were desirable due to the legal ramifications involved with the possible negative downstream effects of armoring. Furthermore, the costs for armoring would have been considerably higher than the costs involved with bioengineering (river bank stabilization).