INNISFAIL, Alta. – When Vince and Wanda Lohman received an Alberta Beef Producers’ environmental stewardship award at the end of 2004, they were recognized for nearly 25 years of protecting the Little Red Deer River.
They fenced off the river to keep cattle out, piped in water to livestock, removed their dugouts, practised rotational grazing and planted shelterbelts. The intention was to leave an environmental legacy for their five children.
On Father’s Day in the spring of 2005, the normally quiet, winding river became a roaring wall of water as heavy rains raised it three metres in 10 hours, ripping away mature trees, fence lines, embankments and carrying trash far downstream.
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“It was full of silt, black. We found propane bottles, chairs and everything else in our fields,” said Vince.
They were luckier than most living in central Alberta facing the worst flood in a century. Neighbours helped them move cattle and evacuate their home, but three days later, when floodwaters subsided, they faced the largest environmental challenge of their 30 years on their ranch west of Innisfail.
“It took a lot out of us. It was an overwhelming year,” said Vince.
Three projects to protect the banks were implemented and a fourth is planned.
The Lohmans contacted an engineer for help, but realized the cost of hiring out the river bank reclamation was beyond their means so they decided to tackle the job on their own. As members of environmental groups like the Little Red Deer River Initiative, Grey Wooded Forage Association, Ducks Unlimited and Eastern Slopes Association, they had good contacts with useful ideas.
The projects required approval from Alberta Environment and the federal Department of Oceans and Fisheries. Planning and government paperwork took two months.
“They told us how we had to reconstruct the banks. They put the rules down,” said Wanda.
Representatives from Red Deer and Mountain-view counties approached them to try new ideas in river bank restoration.
While trying to keep up with spring farm work, their first job was collecting ruined barbed wire fences tangled in silt and debris. Working with their children the family removed and rebuilt about three kilometres of fence.
The next project was to fix eroded banks. About 200 tandem truckloads of clean gravel were hauled to fill in the washouts.
Wanda called various cement companies looking for recycled chunks of concrete torn up from urban sidewalks, foundations and curbs. It could not contain any steel reinforcements or other potential contaminants.
About 100 tandem loads of concrete were hauled to their farm at cost. With the help of one hired person with a track hoe, slabs of used concrete were fitted on the river bank like a jigsaw puzzle over special filter fabric to stabilize the river. The fabric feels like a carpet underlay and should help prevent future soil erosion.
Willows were planted to act as a natural rebar to hold the soil. The willows consisted of trimmed back shoots with no roots, which they harvested from already established trees. Holes were punched into the ground to hit the water table and the sticks were dropped in. This year all the saplings leafed out and are growing well.
“It was just a stick. It was incredible, I never would have believed it,” said Vince.
“One of the stipulations was that it had to be trees that grew naturally in the area,” said Wanda.
Working with conservation officer Donna Trottier of Red Deer county, a torn-up bank was subjected to an experimental project using natural barriers to rebuild. Known as bioengineering it uses natural products to stabilize a vulnerable area.
Dormant dogwood and willow branches were collected to weave a natural barrier called a wattle fence. Poplar branches were formed into stakes and were positioned into the bank in a row along the water’s edge in April of this year.
The willow and dogwood branches were then stacked horizontally along the poplar stakes to form a fence along a terraced bank.
The fences were then backfilled with soil to provide a base for the roots to grow. The fence was also covered with chicken wire to prevent beaver damage. The branches jutting out sideways and the willow sticks have sprouted, and in some places, the fencing and wire is barely visible.
The Lohmans also obtained native grass seed and planted it along the bank. It has grown and the area is filling in with green grasses and bushes.
The flood also brought some new and noxious weeds they must pull out by hand because chemical spraying could damage the valuable plants.
