CCTU CONSERVATION PROJECTS ARE BACK! BEAR CREEK EARTH DAY CONSERVATION PROJECT WRAP-UP

After a year hiatus due to Covid concerns, Cutthroat Chapter volunteer boots are once again on the ground. 21 chapter members and friends, including six CCTU board members, joined forces with the City of Lakewood for an Earth Day planting event. On Saturday April 24, 2021 we met with four City employees at the Bear Creek Greenbelt. Ten narrow leaf cottonwood trees and two dozen shrubs, all native plants, were transplanted on a Bear Creek streambank damaged by excessive beaver activity. Beavers are an integral part of many watersheds, and they greatly enhance those areas with their dams which create wetlands. This activity diversifies habitat and increases species counts, both great things for these environments. Beavers with no predators can overdo things and create some damage to local flora. Funding from the Cutthroat Chapter paid for both these native plants and the fencing materials that will protect the trees and shrubs in their first few vulnerable years. These plants will shade and cool the water which is great for the fish. They will stabilize the streambanks while providing habitat for a multitude of animals. This project will allow coexistence of animals and plants in this urban oasis. It was a great day in celebration of our Mother Earth.