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Hinge-Felling, Best & Cheapest

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Detailed Description

Lucinda Cole and I retired to the Pitchfork Ranch in southwest New Mexico two decades ago. We’ve overseen 17 government grants to install grade-control structures in 31 side-drainages and the ranches’ 9-mile reach of the 48-mile-long Burro Ciénaga riparian watercourse, 1.5-miles perennial ciénaga. We’ve propagated over 1,000 trees, installed more than 1,000 grade-control structures of various types, including Hinge-Felling addressed here. Our ranch restoration goal is to shallow the land, provide wildlife habitat and capture atmospheric carbon.    

The goal of my conference remarks will explain wetland Hinge-Felling grade-control structures.  

Wetland restoration is an important climate crisis tool because restoration is one of 21 recognized natural climate solutions capable of capturing up to 37% of excess atmospheric carbon. Wetlands like ciénagas, bogs, marshland, swampland and other wetted sweet spots capture five-times more carbon than forests and 500 times more carbon than oceans. 

My remarks will power-point a single-page set of four pairs of then-and-now same-location photographs to illustrate restoration-based change on the Pitchfork Ranch followed by three pages of 20 images demonstrating Hinge-Felling:  

(1) how-to construct them, (2) how they slow water flow and capture sediment  

(3) how they evolve or grow, (4) why they persist, and (5) their low cost. Finally, a diagram, with Trifecta Crisis & Natural Climate Solutions source data. 

Details

Length:
00:13:59

Sources/Usage

Content used with permission.

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