“Managing plants on the levee perfectly illustrates a challenge facing urban rivers like the lower San Lorenzo: how to balance healthy river habitat with a safe structure for flood control. The City is required to follow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance requirements for the levee and cut back vegetation each fall to maintain flood control. When done carefully, this management can ensure that maximum benefits for people, fish and wildlife are kept in place. A few things we love about the new management strategy: willow trees and native plants left standing, newly planted natives were preserved at CWC’s habitat enhancement sites, and mowed vegetation left to nourish the soil. More DEPTH.
