Sand County Foundation and Iowa Soybean Association Demonstrate Value of Oxbow Restoration

The ecological value of oxbows and the benefits of restoring them are highlighted in the latest issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation which features an article authored by Sand County Foundation's Stephen Laubach and our partners Christopher Jones and Keegan Kult at the Iowa Soybean Association. Oxbows are remnant meanders of rivers or streams that are cut off from the main stream, creating a remaining depression often still connected to the water table. Occasionally, agricultural practices and flooding can cause sediment and organic material to build up in the oxbow. This can limit the potential for water storage during floods, fish habitat, and filtering nutrients that run off agricultural lands. The preliminary results of our project are promising and suggest that oxbow restorations are a sound strategy for improving water quality of adjacent streams. We are also learning that clustering restorations in a watershed would provide a large-scale opportunity for water quality and fish habitat enhancement. For landowners interested in improving water quality or recreational value on their property, oxbow restoration appears to be a modest investment to make those improvements.