NEW BOOK the Water Do the Work Bill Zeedyk and Van Clothi

with the flooding that happened to rearrange the landscape of berms, pond, gardens and gabions at Quailsprings Learning Center and Permaculture Farm www.quailsprins.org in the floods Oct 3 and 4 see details at the bottom.

It is important as Permaculture designers that we understand how to work in riparian restoration by "thinking like a creek" there is so much to learn from the designs that failed and the ones that worked at Quailsprings

Bill Zeedyk and Van Clothier
http://www.islandpress.org/bookstore/detailsyy27.htm

Published: 06/06/2009
Publisher: Island Press/
Quivira Coalition

ISBN: 9780970826435
Paperback: $50.00

Let the Water Do the Work is an important contribution to riparian restoration. By `thinking like a creek,' one can harness the regenerative power of floods to reshape stream banks and rebuild floodplains along gullied stream channels. Induced Meandering is an artful blend of the natural sciences-geomorphology, hydrology and ecology-which govern channel forming processes. Induced

Meandering directly challenges the dominant paradigm of river and creek stabilization by promoting the intentional erosion of selected banks while fostering deposition of eroded materials on an evolving floodplain. The river self-heals as the growth of native riparian vegetation accelerates the meandering process. Anyone with an interest in natural resource management in these uncertain times should read this book and put these ideas to work. Let's go with the flow!

Biographies

Bill Zeedyk, innovator of the Induced Meandering concept and principal author of this book, brings a lifetime of experience in natural resource conservation to the practice of river, wetland and riparian restoration. Upon retiring from the U.S. Forest Service with thirty-four years experience in habitat management, Bill founded a small consulting business with the mission of motivating others by developing and advancing simple techniques for healing incised streams and gullied wetlands. He has prepared training materials and conducted numerous hands-on workshops involving professionals, laymen, and volunteers alike. His methods have been adopted by federal, state, and tribal agencies, landowners and conservation organizations, and acclaimed by teachers, scientists, and practitioners in the field.

Van Clothier, is involved in stream, wetland, and water harvesting projects all over New Mexico and Southeast Arizona. He has a degree in physics from the University of California and is a student of Dr. David Rosgen. Van has been an apprentice of Bill Zeedyk since 2003 and his company, Stream Dynamics, Inc., provides consultation and on-the-ground work for water harvesting earthworks, stream and arroyo improvement, erosion control, and road maintenance.

http://www.quailsprings.org/news
October 10, 2010
Hello Dear Friends of Quail Springs,
The waters have settled and the clay deposits are beginning to crack in the sun as the land at Quail Springs begins to rest from last weeks unprecedented flooding event. Since the mountains of water came to reshape the land and our lives, our spirits have been lovingly buoyed by the tremendous outpouring of kind words, offers of assistance, donations, general encouragement and appreciation from hundreds of people locally and around the globe. We've been reminded again and again that our work touches many people, in many places, and in many ways.

Check out this short video (no audio) taken during the flood by Nick Peihl, who was here for a plastering workshop. Take a look at the water in the middle of the canyon up toward the springs - it is nearly 15 feet deep in the center and over 100 feet wide. Down canyon across from our main community area, the waters gathered to nearly 800 feet across.

This past week has been filled with long days troubleshooting, designing and fixing plumbing, sanitation, phone, roads, and water storage, repairing our badly damaged well, and scavenging down canyon for the many things that floated away...

Please help with flood recovery and rebuilding by contributing a tax deductible donation via Donate Now. Thank you! All gifts, small and large, add up to rebuilding and planting for resiliency.
Read more...

Quail Springs Sustains Major Flooding

October 3, 2010
Hello Friends of Quail Springs,
We wanted to share with all of you that we've just come through two days of major flooding that have altered the face of Quail Springs. First of all, we are SO GRATEFUL THAT NO PEOPLE OR FARM ANIMALS WERE HURT. This is a huge blessing for which we are all thankful.

Beginning on Friday, October 1st, we had a storm that dropped a little over 2" of rain in about an hour that caused extreme channel flooding that ripped out our lower gabion, silted up our larger swales and caused damage to about 10% of the garden. We wish that this was the extent of the damage yet mother nature had another story to share with us.

On Saturday, October 2nd, at about 12:30pm, a second and much more ominous thunder storm descended on our valley down from Iwihinmu (Mt. Pinos) beginning with a huge hail storm followed by torrential rains and heavy winds. The lighting and thunder stood right over us for what seemed like a lifetime yet was just a few minutes. In just a half an hour, over 3 inches of rain fell directly on Quail Springs and much more in the canyons that feed the main canyon. Little rivers began to flow down the secondary and tertiary canyons, and then it happened.
A wall of water we could have never imagined in our wildest dreams and ruminations made its own thunder as it careened down the canyon. This wall of water tore at trees, ripped out our largest gabions and breached the walls of our incised stream and created a rushing river that spanned at some points over 1,000 feet across the canyon. It was a sight to behold and an event that made your heart nearly stand still.
Nothing could stand up to this deluge...
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