Restoration Round Up: River Bluffs Open Space

By: Amy Gilboy, Restoration and Stewardship Specialist

Click on the cover image to read the restoration story of River Bluffs Open Space.

All photos provided by Amy Gilboy.

After presenting the River Bluffs Open Space restoration project at the 2022 Society for Ecological Restoration Conference, I was approached by the Colorado Native Plant Society to submit an article to their quarterly publication, Aquilegia.

Check out my account of the restoration work completed at River Bluffs Open Space after the devastating flood of 2013 and how the healthy river corridor is flourishing.

Restoration in Action

August 22, 2022: Looking west at a transect line while monitoring the restored floodplain. Native plants include narrowleaf willow (Salix exigua), plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides), peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides), and false indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa).

Restoration in Action

May 22, 2023: Looking southeast at the Poudre River and the restored floodplain.

Restoration in Action

Restored overflow channel and log jam installation.

Native plants are thriving

Rocky Mountain beeplant (Cleomella serrulata) and honeybee at the RBOS.