Members of the Birdtown and Big Cove communities in Cherokee are rallying around stream restoration projects at levels not typically witnessed in Western North Carolina when it comes to government-run environmental projects on private property.

But here, private landowners have embraced a plan for systematic restoration of the watershed by everyone tackling their individual section of the creek — replanting vegetation along the banks, fencing cattle out creeks, removing trash and stopping run-off.

“We’ve had a lot of property owners contact us and say ‘Hey, come up and look at my place. It’s eroding and there’s trash all in here.’ So we are going in and helping them clean these areas up,” said David Wyatt, a coordinator for the projects with the Tribal Natural Resource Office. In the process, Wyatt introduces residents to what he calls “backyard BMPs,” or best management practices.

In some yards, it meant seeding grass in bare spots where soil was washing into the creek, or digging a ditch to slow runoff. In other areas it meant fencing cattle out of the creek and installing a remote watering system or well. Along one section, it meant excavating remnants of a trash dump, including appliances, car parts and hunks of concrete.

In just a few months last fall, the effort restored 3,000 feet of stream in the Goose Creek watershed. Wyatt started the project by going door-to-door with the help of community liaison Arthur Wade.

“People are really coming on board with this,” Wyatt said. “We sold them on good water quality and improving their land. We have a long list of people to do this spring.”

Wyatt attributes the interest level to the tight-knit community spirit and family infrastructure already in place in Cherokee. Restoration of trout habitat, specifically “safe clean streams for children to fish,” is a centerpiece of all the watershed restoration currently underway in Cherokee, where trout fishing is culturally and economically important.

Another factor in the project’s success is the participation of sixth-graders in Cherokee Challenge, an after-school club for at-risk youth that uses outdoor adventure and environmental education to empower youth.

Melvena Swimmer, a leader with Cherokee Challenge, called the stream restoration one of the best projects the youth have participated in. The stretch of Goose Creek that runs through the camp was transformed from a decades-old trash dump into a tree-lined greenway, generating pride among the students.

The students were most excited about tracking measurable improvements in the level of sedimentation, or “turbidity,” through weekly sampling, Swimmer said.

“They were like ‘Wow, we did that? This is fun,’” Swimmer recalled. “Hopefully, this will open the doors for them to realize this is something they enjoy and that they want to go on and get an education in environmental aspects.”

In addition to taking water samples, the sixth-graders will monitor insects living in the stream. Swimmer’s long-range goal is to have students taking part in Cherokee Challenge release trout into the stream.

“We want the ones that started this to come back and put the baby trout in the water so they can really see the development,” Swimmer said.

Up on Big Cove Creek

With momentum secured on the Goose Creek project, Wyatt this month launched a watershed restoration of Big Cove Creek. The first step is determining problem spots through water sampling spanning 15 points along the creek and its tributaries.

Water samples are collected at all 15 sites during major rainfalls using a gauge that fills up with water when the creek rises.

“If you go out there on a pretty day, you’re not getting the true representation of the sediment load,” Wyatt said. “Families and kids then go check these samples and bring them to the testing center.”

Volunteers have already adopted all 15 testing sites. Data will be collected for six months to provide an accurate water quality map of the area.

“Based on the sampling of the streams, we’ll be able to determine where the impairments are, and then we’ll come with a plan of how to fix the watershed,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt hopes to start the work by spring, but will have to find funding. A $150,000 EPA grant will run out by the end of the year. Tribal support in providing labor has stretched the grant funds, Wyatt said. Tribal construction crews and Cherokee Department of Transportation have done everything from excavating trash to planting trees, some 5,000 of which are waiting to be planted.

“They live here and they work here and they loved working in their own backyard,” Wyatt said. “Instead of putting in pipe, it was nice to be putting in a tree.”

To get involved, call Wyatt at 828.497.1800, and watch for community clean-up dates.