The Three Amigos

September 10, 2023

The Three Amigos Update!

In the spring of 2021, as part of the Bow Valley Riparian Recovery and Enhancement Program, another planting of riparian habitat units was carried out, along the Bighill Creek in the town of Cochrane, Alberta. Among the many plantings that spring, a small sample site was identified as ideal for annual monitoring and showcase use for this publication.

The planting of the three amigos consisted of two Salix exigua, and one Salix bebbianna or discolor, it is hard to tell from just the cutting, what exact variety of those two this one could be, but it doesn’t matter, both varieties are native to the stream. 

The exigua are really easy to identify, and a previous planting of the same, right next to the new planting site, was a smart choice. The Salix exigua is clonal in a root system and many suckers will occur, however, this is really good for stream bank stability, and this particular site was a stream bank rehab, so exigua was chosen as the main variety, with the other thrown in for biodiversity.