A $100,000 state grant will help plant native trees and shrubs, stabilize the river bank and build livestock fencing along a reach of the Powder River in Keating Valley about 15 miles east of Baker City.

The Keating Soil and Water Conservation District received the grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. The work, intended to improve water quality, will be done on private land.

The trees and shrubs, with their root systems, will help stabilize the river’s bank and reduce erosion, said Whitney Rohner, district manager for Baker County’s four soil and water conservation districts.

Workers will plant 400 trees, including willow, peachleaf and cottonwoods, Rohner said.

Shrub species to be planted include snowberries, elderberries, golden currants, wood’s roses and cayenne willows.

In addition to the live trees, the project includes the placement of dead trees and boulders in the river, Rohner said.

“Only natural materials will be used,” she said. “What will go in is 77 whole trees that are about 20 feet long, 87 large boulders, 2 by 3 feet in diameter, 16 root wads, as well as large willow clumps. That’s kind of how we try to do it, basically the trees will be placed, the boulders will be used to hold them in place. The trees will be placed in a crisscross pattern, and buried about 15 feet into the bank.”

This design helps to slow the river’s flow, trap sediment and reduce erosion, Rohner said.

“The bank’s boulders and willow clumps will secure the sediment coming downstream, that builds up and prevents it from eroding in the future,” she said. “After the bank stabilization both sides of the project area will be fenced, that will prevent livestock access, and then we’re putting in two livestock gravel accesses.”

Although the fences are intended to keep cattle away from the river, Rohner said the design allows the area to be grazed as well. A total of 11,466 linear feet of fence will be built.

“The goal overall is to improve water quality, and that’s being done through preventing future erosion,” Rohner said.

The new trees will shade the water, as well, lowering the water temperature and improving fish habitat, she said.

The work will be done in phases, with placement of the trees and boulders slated to start this fall.

“This is a heavy construction project, it’ll require an excavator and everything to install those trees,” Rohner said.

Other work, including planting of trees and shrubs, will extend into 2024.