PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. — Some Pacific Northwest homeowners are using recycled Christmas trees to prevent erosion and restore habitat.
Dan Boeholt and his wife purchased a dream property along the North River in Pacific County around 25 years ago. After several flood events, they realized they'd need to take action.
"My wife looks at me and goes, hey, what are you gonna do about this?" Boeholt said. "So I called all the government agencies and they had very expensive solutions."
He listened to and considered each one, then learned of another option: using Christmas trees to catch silt and build up the banks. He called a group of Boy Scouts and purchased some recycled trees. Then, with the help of friends and family, got to work.
"We started with one tree at the bottom, two, three, and angled them out and they started collecting silt," Boeholt said. "All that creates root structure. I kept adding to it and here we are, 25 years later. We have 20 feet of bank here, over there 40 feet - not only did we not lose, we actually gained some back."
Boeholt added other types of trees along the river over the years. He said he's seen the environmental benefits in action.
"You keep the bank from eroding which puts silt in the river which is good," Boeholt said. "The salmon come back here and spawn ... we got a happy place out here now."
Some cities, counties and states are adopting projects like these, including for coastal restoration in the southeast. Boeholt is helping others learn to do it, and said it's a good idea to plan now for next year. It takes time to collect enough trees and find some place to store them before doing the work -- and that projects along riverbanks will likely need multiple permits. Still, he said , the work is worth it and he hopes more people will consider recycling in this way and giving those trees a second life.
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