Conservation Currents
The Rarity of Rootwads
September 2007
by Shelly Stiles
A rootwad is as earthy as it sounds, since it's essentially a tree stem with its root fan attached. So it ought to be as ordinary as dirt, right? Au contraire! A rootwad is as rare as a bird in the hand.
Stockpiled Root Wads
Photo courtesy of the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance
I know this because, for several years now, my charge as coordinator for various habitat restoration projects on the Batten Kill has sometimes involved securing dozens of rootwads, and having them transported to our project sites. There they are dug or driven into the bank, stem first, with the root fan angled upstream. The root fans reduce the near-bank erosive power of the stream, help collect organic debris, and provide cover for fish and other aquatic creatures. And the "structures," as we call them, look as natural as indeed they are.
But as most wood-handling professionals will tell you, our forests don't produce rootwads. They produce logs, and stumps, and they do so with the help of equipment designed to produce logs, and stumps. Compared to either, rootwads are very heavy and awkward to harvest and transport. Only special landowners are able to supply them at prices we can afford, and only special contractors are able to harvest and handle them safely and well.
And so here's a shout-out to some of the best contractors in the region, folks who have responded to my annual anxious notes and calls since our first project in 1999. They include Burgess Bros., Noel Dydo Inc., Ben Gosselin, Jerome Construction, Joe Nolan, Patrick Salo, and Keith Squires. Consulting foresters Mark Riley and Bruce Caler were among the many folks who lent a hand locating trees. And the landowners whose rootwads they were before they became ours deserve acknowledgment too.
I'm reminded of rootwads because I received a message at the office last week: "Shelly, there's a large willow down near the Wayside store. Perhaps you could use it for your Batten Kill project."
Weather permitting, our team will be returning this month to continue a Batten Kill cover restoration project we began last year. (The project site is known as Twin Rivers Farm; it's located in West Arlington, at the confluence of the Batten Kill and the Green River.) We have stockpiled dozens of rootwads on the site, but — well, it's my job to worry we might need more.
And if not for the Twin Rivers Farm project, then for other efforts up- and downstream. Several landowners in West Arlington have agreed to let our team improve habitat in their stretches of river. We have years of good work ahead of us.
While I worry, others on our team do the really heavy lifting. Cynthia Browning, executive director of the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance, is in charge of raising funds and generally keeping an eye on things. Steve Roy, fisheries biologist for the Green Mountain National Forest; Ken Cox, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries biologist for the Batten Kill (and other streams); Mike Kline of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation; and Scott Wixsom, head of the Green Mountain National Forest southern section fish crew — these gentlemen are in charge of designing our projects.
Scott, with help from his crew, supervises the installation of the trees and boulders and other cover structures. And our contractors do extraordinary things with big equipment. If all goes as planned, you can see them all in action from River Road the second or third week of September.
You can become a part of the team too, by selling our donating rootwads to us. We use hardwoods and hemlock, with stems at least 15 inches in diameter and at least 18 feet or so long. If you've got such items, we can help arrange for harvest, and for a logger or forester to assign a value to your materials. You'll raise a little cash or get a tax deduction. I'll be less anxious!
Shelly Stiles is district manager of the Bennington County Conservation District, whose mission is promoting rural livelihoods and protecting natural resources in southwestern Vermont. She can be contacted at 442-2275 or .
This column appeared in the Bennington Banner in Septermber 2007, as one of the BCCD's Conservation Currents pieces, a bi-weekly feature written by BCCD board and staff members since August 2006.