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Urban streams in our area are some of the most neglected resources. Miles and miles have been piped underground and many of those above ground have become weed-choked waste areas. Restoring the streambank along your property or community area has a number of benefits to you and the ecosystem:
Streambank stabilization: roots from native plants help hold soil and slow erosion.
Easy care and water conservation: native plants are adapted to the local soil types; they thrive in the Willamette Valley climate of high rainfall in winter and low rainfall in summer, if grown in the correct location.
Beautiful landscaping: many of the native plants have attractive flowers, foliage, winter twigs, fall color, and produce a unique landscape.
Food and cover for wildlife: migrating birds, waterfowl, and threatened and endangered species use the plants for food and cover. Fish feed on the aquatic organisms that consume leaves and twigs dropped in the water.
Pollution filtration: surrounding land uses can contribute pollution such as sediment and soil, human and animal waste, and toxics such as oil and car exhaust fumes, to a stream. A buffer strip of native plants can reduce the impact of surrounding land uses on the stream.
