Volunteers on the Claybanks Restoration Site
The Claybanks site, located approximately 2 miles downstream of Mio in Oscoda County, MI, contributes an estimated 262 tons of sediment to the Au Sable River system. The erosion of the Claybanks bluff can be traced to numerous causes. In addition to the small amount of erosion that naturally occurs on high bluffs and the outside of river bends, the erosion of this site has been exacerbated by human access issues. It was reported that erosion rates began to increase as recreational tubers found an interesting opportunity to run up the bank, and slide back down to the river.
Numerous volunteers have participated in the restoration of this site and have assisted with terracing the slope, placing bio-degradable jute netting on the bare soils, staking the bank with willow cuttings and planting native vegetation on the slope.
Huron Pines AmeriCorps member Nathan Skibbe helped coordinate several of the volunteer work days to restore this site. On May 17th fifteen members from the Challenge Chapter of Trout Unlimited provided 75 hours of volunteer service and on June 7th 12 volunteers from Mershon Chapter of Trout Unlimited provided over 30 hours of volunteer service to help stabilize this site. Volunteers distributed ten yards of top soil, grass seed, straw, and overlaped everything with bio-degradable jute netting that will help control any further erosion. Willow stakes we planted along with other native plants to stabilize the site. The project site encompasses two hundred and fifty feet of stream bank, a face of nearly sixty feet, with a continuous slope of fifty degrees. It was hard work, but all the volunteers did an amazing job of completing the tasks of the day. “Days like these are the reason that I wake every morning with a smile, I love the projects, the people, and the service that I do with Huron Pines AmeriCorps,” stated Nathan Skibbe.
