KEEPING CREEPING SOILS ON SHORE

A Waterway General Permit Application has been applied for and approved from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in regards to a shoreline restoration project. This project will take place on Leigh Lake flowage in Oconto County, Wisconsin. Elevated Lake levels, sparse vegetation, and a lack of rock riprap have exposed 130 feet of existing shoreline to a high degree of erosion and soil creep. The methods used to correct this condition will involve adding both, geotextile filter fabric and approximately 100 sq. yards of rock riprap 6 to 9 inches in diameter to the shoreline. Vegetation including, shrubs, grasses and plants native to the area will be planted as well. The anticipated results of this project will be that the new riprap will provide stabilization to the shoreline and prevent it from further erosion. The added vegetation will serve three purposes. First, it will reinforce the shoreline; second it will filter nutrients and pollutants from runoff water entering the lake. Thirdly, any subsequent soil creep can be assessed by measuring deviation from the orthogonal relationship between the plant stems and the soil surface.