Restoration is not only for the birds

by Lucian Davis, Golden Eagle Audubon Board Member

I’m leading restoration on a small plot of land as part of Golden Eagle Audubon’s Boise River ReWild Project. I lead a team of Idaho Young Birders Club volunteers to do this work. We just finished planting 400 native plant seedlings. I’m really excited to see what my plot will look like in the spring.

I am very lucky to be taking care of a plot in my local birding patch, a place I’ve been visiting for probably more than ten years now. This plot along the Boise River has been fairly neglected until now, but I’ve always loved it for its wildness. It’s the site of the future City of Boise Alta Harris Park, so some of that wildness will go away, but with how quickly Boise is being developed, this seems like dodging a bullet.

The work of my team and the 50-acre ReWild Project will result in a wide buffer of protected and hopefully restored riparian habitat along the river.

Sagebrush grown by volunteers from local seed and planted in the Idaho Young Birders Club plot.

Many of the restoration methods our team is using seem counterintuitive - planting just before winter, watering and putting cages and mulch around plants adapted to this region. These plants are perennials, some look dead in the winter but below ground they’re establishing root systems in preparation for spring.

As for the watering, cages and mulch - yes these plants are native, but we aim to increase survival rates beyond what might be “natural.” Why? In degraded areas and in a changing climate, it can be harder for plants to establish themselves. Many of these plants need just the right conditions to successfully grow, that’s why plants produce so many seeds. In a healthy ecosystem with relatively stable weather patterns, survival of enough seedlings is no problem. If one year is bad for new growth the existing plants can try again next year. Through restoration, we aim to give these plants a head start, with the hope that in a few years our help won’t be needed.

A note on the term “habitat restoration,” which is often how this work is referred to. I don’t necessarily dislike the term, but I do wonder if some reframing is in order. I usually see restoration framed in this way (from my biased position as a bird person): if we restore plants there will be more insects for birds and other animals to eat. This is absolutely true and a great reason to do restoration. However, I also believe there is inherent value in restoring native plant communities independent of the impact on animals. The positives for animals help restoration projects get more attention and funding, so I get it. But I think restoration is just as much about the organisms at the “bottom” of the food chain as it is for those at the “top.”

If you’d like to get involved with restoration in Boise, check out the ReWild Project.

Newly planted plants are protected from bowsers by plastic cages.

Volunteers with Idaho Young Birders Club at their ReWild plot. Lucian is second from right.

ReWild habitat restoration plot along the Boise River.