Tearing trees out might seem unkind, even nasty, to the environment. It all depends on what your end goal is. Between our two prairie fields (and camp sites) was an old grass waterway, but it hadn’t been grass since we’d owned the place. Trees had quickly taken over, as they love to do. The water was eroding the soil away over time, so that the “waterway” was turning into a large gully.

Tree roots are large, which allows water and soil to pass through them quickly during a massive storm. Grass roots are tiny and woven together, making them better for holding soil and water. So grass in waterways is a good thing.

Our friend Jeff came by with a massive backhoe to fix the culvert so we could access the river better and get across it more safely. (That’s our new little Kubota, not the massive backhoe…)

While he was here, he cleared out some trees too. It’s not back to being a perfect waterway, but undoing 25 years of neglect can get expensive! Instead, he’s opened up the canopy to let the sun shine in on some key spots. In others, the sheer mass of old wood will slow down the water moving from higher ground when it storms.