Red River Riparian Project
What is a Riparian Area? | Project Work Area | Land Owner Assistance | Goals | Glossary Links | Highlights | Contact
Weinlaeder Wetland
An area of approximately 115 acres, located 10 miles east of Grafton, ND is owned by Weinlaeder Seed Corporation and is considered
too wet to successfully raise crops. The corporation has enrolled in the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, and wanted to
establish wetlands in the area. Wetlands would increase wildlife habitat and improve water quality. The stream banks are sparsely covered
with vegetation and are therefore prone to erosion. The establishment of wetlands in this area will decrease erosion.
Site investigations show the land gradually decreases in elevation toward the Park River. The slope is shallow enough to support
standing water associated with wetlands. Also, this area commonly experiences spring flooding.
The goal of this project will be to create an area that will retain spring runoff in wetlands throughout the year and increase
wildlife habitat in an area that is too wet to grow crops.
The land is bound on the north and east by the Park River and to the west and south by roads, seed company buildings and farmed
fields. The land gradually slopes downward from an elevation of 800 feet towards the northwestern section of the topographic map to the
river elevation of 770 feet towards the southeast. A county drainage ditch, with a bottom elevation of 793.5 feet, would provide water
to the wetland.
Current land uses include farming and residential area. A dike surrounds the residential area, but is set back far enough from the
stream so that it does not alter the channel.
The Park River is a meandering stream with a gradient around 2%. The stream bank is eroded in many areas where fields are directly
adjacent to the stream. Approximately 95% of the stream banks have a steepness of less than 45° and 5% of the banks are greater than
45°. Local anthropogenic alterations to the stream include deforestation for farming, the I-29 bridge, and the access road bridge.
About 30-60% of the stream banks are moderately unstable in non-farmed areas. Other areas are very unstable, characterized by cracked
soil with shallow relief and no vegetation.
The following series of photographs depict the restoration of the Weinlaeder Wetland Site. Click on an image for a larger version.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
