Ecotone was contacted by Lehigh Cement who was proposing an expansion of their plant facility in Union Bridge, Maryland. They were being required by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to mitigate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands on their site and needed to identify a restoration project in the Little Pipe Creek watershed. Ecotone identified a degraded reach of Wolf Pit Branch with potential for restoration of wetland hydrology along floodplain areas. The existing stream had been relocated and “ditched” previously to create additional land for cultivation. The channel had subsequently become entrenched and had no access to a floodplain. Bank erosion potential was rated as high to extreme.

Ecotone contracted with Ecosystem Management, Inc. to provide design build services for the project and negotiated an easement with the landowner’s representative and to allow the project to move forward. The easement payment compensated the landowner for the future loss of pasture land. Ecotone the developed concept plans for the restoration of the stream and adjacent wetlands. The plans called for the relocation of the stream from the side of the pasture to the center of the field. The new invert of the stream would provide hydrology to the wetlands proposed on either side of the new channel. Plans were finalized and a flood study was performed by Ecotone to verify that the proposed water surface elevations would not exacerbate flooding on adjacent properties. The design called for the restoration of 1,000 linear feet of Wolf Pit Branch and the creation/restoration of 0.8 acres of forested floodplain wetlands adjacent to the stream. The construction documents prepared by Ecotone, Inc. included wetland and stream grading plans, existing and proposed cross-sections, profiles, stream stabilization structure details, sediment and erosion control plans, geometry plan, and a planting plan for the site.

Ecotone functioned as the designer, permitting consultant, and general contractor for construction of the project. As part of the project, the fully entrenched degraded stream was relocated and elevated several feet from its original elevation in order to restore access and function to its floodplain. A sinuous C4 channel was constructed and stabilized with cross vane weirs, boulder vanes and wetland sodding. The adjacent wetland cells were sculpted to provide flood attenuation, water quality enhancement, and wildlife habitat within the floodplain areas. The project was successfully constructed in 2004 and has been monitored yearly by Ecotone.