Beartrap Creek, Salina, New York:

Working with the Izaak Walton League of America, NSE designed a restoration plan for Beartrap Creek in the Town of Salina to restore hydraulic functions and fish habitat within the creek.  Implementation of the plan is set to begin in September 2011.

Some photos of Beartrap Creek prior to restoration:

The results of the installation of in-stream structures improved the habitat condition for locations in Beartrap Creek. Based on the IBI, fish community structure was shown to improve at and downstream of habitat enhancements approximately 8-11 months following installation. However for most of those locations improvements were minimal following initial installation, and for all of these sites, IBI scores remained the same or decreased in 2013. Fish richness and diversity was relatively consistent during sample years for each location, with only one location showing a  consistent increase in diversity; a site that was upstream of habitat enhancements. 

Conclusions were drawn from similar projects that habitat restoration efforts take longer than 2 years to observe the desired outcomes. These sites, as well as others further downstream will be monitored for the next few years with hopes that the restoration efforts have improved the ecosystem.