The Land Trust partnered with several entities in restoration work at the Clallam River Conservation Area. Courtney Bornsworth
Throughout the month of August, the Land Trust partnered with several local contractors to complete the initial phases of restoration work at the Clallam River Conservation Area. Arbor’s Edge Tree and Orchard Service completed thinning work of dense red alder (Alnus rubra) and salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) that grew as a result of logging prior to the Land Trust’s ownership of the property. The thinning will reduce the competition for light, water, and nutrients among the remaining alders, as well as the conifers that were planted after logging ended. This is the first step in enhancing the property and promoting the health of plants and forest.
Additional work was performed by Washington Conservation Corps crews sponsored by the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the Washington Department of Natural Resources aquatic invasive species program. The crews assisted with the control of several noxious weeds on the property, including Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), and Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). The Land Trust and the Salmon Coalition will be partnering up again this winter to install native trees and shrubs in the areas where the noxious weeds were managed to promote a healthier riparian zone along the Clallam River.