Vegetation “The Permanent Erosion Control Solution for Site Stabilization”

William Agnew, M.S., CPESC & Thomas Bowman II

This one hour presentation will address various erosion and sediment control options with a focus on native vegetation as the long term permanent solution to limiting excessive erosion on large scale disturbed lands. The presenter(s) will show multiple examples of excessive erosion and the impacts to downstream operations. Attendees will evaluate erosion problems and identify if they were the result of improper installation, engineering and/or design. A brief discussion of the seed industry and seed availability will follow. The presenter(s) will discuss the costs associated with grass, forb and shrub production/availability and reasons why select seed species may not be available from year-to-year. Growing and collection techniques that are required to bring seed to the market place and have available for your project will be discussed at length. The speakers will discuss the benefits and merits of local ecotype collections compared to the use of broadly adapted species cultivars/selections. The speaker(s) will assist attendees in developing an appropriate vegetation planting plan to select the right species in the right percentages using the right soil additives for your projects. The presenter(s) will tie-in available planting methods, conservation practices, soil enhancement products and erosion control materials into successful rehabilitation/reclamation/restoration outcomes. Multiple case histories will be presented where cost effective erosion control application were complemented with appropriate native plant materials showing outstanding end results. Attendees will see the benefits of native vegetation’s potential to significantly reduce erosion rates as measured by RUSLE2 modeling. Noteworthy current and past projects, including fires, will be discussed to evaluate the benefits of including soil enhancement materials (slow release fertilizer and mycorrhizae inoculants) to the overall success of the project(s).

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will be provided information to assist in understanding and describing the benefits of establishing perennial native plants and the challenges of seed collection and availability
2. Attendees will be offered the components to develop an effective erosion control and vegetation planting plan
3. Attendees will be shown how to combine common sense conservation practices, short term erosion products and vegetation (seed) into successful reclamation outcomes

William Agnew, M.S., CPESC

Co-Presented by William Agnew, M.S., CPESC

William Agnew is the owner of Agnew Environmental Consulting and innovative consulting firm catering to the needs of the reclamation/restoration industries. William has a BS in Wildlife Biology and MS in Range Management both from Colorado State University. William is a CPESC and is responsible for/contributed to over 25 publication.

Co-Presented by Thomas Bowman II

Tom is President of Rocky Mountain Bio Products - A Division of Bowman Construction Supply. Rocky Mountain Bio Products represents a variety of proven, stable and high-quality products that focus on reclamation and revegetation and restoration around North America. He works closely with landscape architects, engineers, federal/state and local government agencies, US Forest Service, BLM, EPA, mine managers and independent consultants to assist in value engineering projects to create healthy soils for a natural plant growth and plant establishment.