Project Experience
Over the past 20 years, WildLands, Inc. has completed a vast number of successful projects throughout the western United States. Our work has required innovative approaches for challenging landscapes. We have harvested seed by hand and revegetated steep slopes with fast-paced mechanical systems. We have hydroseeded large areas of rough mountainous terrain and revegetated miles-long project sites with highly sensitive environmental areas.
With our experience and ecology-based approaches, we have become the ‘go-to’ revegetation, erosion control, and landscaping specialists for clients involved in:
Site Mitigation and Reclamation
Mechanical Stinger Planting – In a project for the Bureau of Land Management, WildLands installed 3,300 rooted plants and cuttings along the cobbled banks of the Grande Ronde River in Oregon. To expedite the work, we used our innovative stinger-equipped excavator, which can readily penetrate riprap and river cobble for efficient planting of seedlings, cuttings, shrubs and trees. The mechanized planting system easily accommodated the tall, one-gallon plants; and, operating with biodegradable fuels and eco-friendly hydraulic fluid, it provided environmental protection for the riparian project site. We planted a diversity of native species and performed the work with excellent plant survival and minimal disturbance to existing vegetation. 
Conservation Programs
CREP Projects –For more than twelve years, WildLands has been conducting projects to install resource-conserving vegetative covers for agricultural landowners participating in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Through our CRP/CREP work in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, we have worked in more than twenty counties to:
- install over two million trees and shrubs
- restore 300 miles of riparian buffer zone
- revegetate long canyons over 1,000 square miles from
Washington into Oregon - complete $3.5 million in contracts
- serve over 160 clients.
The buffer-planting projects have included mitigation, seeding, propagation, site preparation, soil analysis and amendment, planting, exotics control, irrigation strategies, monitoring and follow-up care. Our clients have been extremely pleased with project outcomes, which successfully met goals for enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, improved wildlife forage, erosion control, streambank restoration, improved stream flow and volume, weed control, and enhanced landscape aesthetics.
Habitat Enhancement
Pine Creek CREP Project – WildLands helped transform over-grazed farm land into a healthy ecosystem for fish and wildlife. For the CREP restoration project, we planted 12,200 plants – conifer trees and deciduous trees and shrubs – in a buffer zone along the stream. We collected species-specific seed at the site and propagated 10-in. tublings, which we planted the following spring. We used overlapping permeable mulch mats for weed control and installed specially designed tubes for deep-root watering. Post-planting follow-up care included monitoring and protection from deer and elk browsing. The resulting vegetative cover provided excellent wildlife habitat and shade to cool the stream and promote salmon and steelhead passage.
Site Revegetation
Tipsoo Meadow –Following a highway improvement project in Mount Rainier National Park, WildLands performed a comprehensive restoration of the site’s subalpine meadows with extremely sensitive areas. The project involved seed collection; plant salvage, propagation, storage, and installation; soil mitigation and amendment; various hydroseeding applications; and erosion control. Working in harsh terrain and bad weather, crews used ultra-efficient techniques and teamwork to complete the project before the first snowfall. The resulting new vegetation helped stabilize slopes and significantly enhanced the beauty of the natural landscape.
Wind Farm Projects
Support for Wind Energy Sites –In support of wind farm construction, WildLands has provided revegetation services, Site Restoration Plans for environmental compliance, support for sensitive native vegetation, and restoration of agricultural lands. Recent projects have included: 1) the 8,600-acre Wild Horse Wind Power Project near Vantage in Kittitas County, WA, 2) the 12,000-acre Leaning Juniper Wind Power Project near Arlington in Morrow County, OR; and 3) the Big Horn Wind Power Project near Bickleton in Klickitat County, WA.
Pipeline Projects
Multi-Ecosystem Restoration of Pipeline Right-of-Way – WildLands revegetated and restored a 100-mile-long pipeline right-of-way in Oregon. We conducted a biological assessment of the entire project site, and from the assessment we devised detailed plans for revegetation of the diverse ecosystems across the project site. We revegetated areas in a desert plant community in eastern Oregon, the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, the Pacific Crest Trail, an old-growth Conifer Forest, Oak Woodlands, and agricultural and residential lands. Restoration included site preparation, plant installation, seeding, erosion control, exotics control, and protection of endangered species and sensitive plant communities. The project concluded with excellent outcomes and demonstrated the breadth of expertise we offer for diverse ecological areas, terrain and habitat.
Highway Projects
Erosion Control from Lewiston Hill to Moscow – Supporting a reconstruction project for U.S. Highway 95 in Idaho, WildLands provided erosion and sediment control over an extended area from Lewiston to Moscow. We installed over 200,000 feet (40 miles) of compost wattles across the steep-sloped hillsides. The wattles were filled on site with high-quality, weed-free compost and placed and secured along the contours of the hillside to mitigate the forces of stormwater during and after construction activities. An added benefit of the compost wattles is enhanced filtration of the run-off to remove environmental pollutants. Other remedial measures included hydroseeding more than 120 acres. The temporary seed-mulch mixture was designed to stabilize the soil until permanent seed was established. We later provided permanent seeding on 75 acres.
Wetlands Mitigation
McNary Pools Mitigation – WildLands provided revegetation services for mitigation of environmentally sensitive wetlands on a National Wildlife Refuge. The work, which supported a highway project, involved transforming a weed patch into healthy, productive wetlands. Over a 3-year period, we provided exotics control; tree removal; hydroseeding; and installation of 100,000 plants, from aquatic emergents to shrub steppe upland species. We developed an extensive and highly efficient irrigation system and bioengineered a unique aquatic feature that provided effective exotics control and enhanced habitat for fish and wildlife.
Fire Recovery and Post-Fire Rehabilitation
Aerial Hydromulching in Colorado – Working quickly for the U.S. Forest Service, WildLands provided emergency aerial hydromulching of 1,500 fire-scorched acres at risk of soil erosion and flood damage. The project involved a complicated helicopter operation designed to treat nine high-elevation targets in remote areas of rough terrain. We devised a special slurry formulation and ran an ultra-efficient operation to minimize helicopter cost and ensure safety. The treatments were completed thirteen days ahead of schedule and provided effective erosion control. In the final report, the client expressed appreciation for WildLands’ “courtesy, cooperation and excellent work.”
Erosion and Sediment Control
Streamside Stabilization in Yosemite National Park – In a project for the National Park Service, WildLands helped reclaim and stabilize a country road along a river bank in Yosemite National Park. The Federal Highway Department had replaced the road that had collapsed when the river flooded, but the half-acre site was difficult to revegetate and remained unstable. WildLands designed a revegetation plan for effective, long-term erosion control for the steep slope. We re-graded the slope, replaced the topsoil, installed a proprietary watering system, installed a three-dimensional erosion-control matting, and hand-planted selected native species. With the successful results, the site was protected from erosion and future washouts.
Golf Course and Commercial Landscaping
Tumble Creek Golf Course –WildLands’ landscaping services supported development of the beautiful Tumble Creek Golf Course at the Suncadia Resort near Roslyn, Washington. For the course, which is set on 2,600 acres of woodlands, meadows, and streams in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, we provided hydroseeding and hydromulching of fairways and tee blocks, covering 110 acres. We seeded an additional 75 acres of perimeter rough areas and installed irrigation in the native buffer areas. All work was completed with minimal disturbance to the site, and the resulting turf and vegetation contribute to the spectacular beauty of this scenic golf course.
Landscaping at Zion National Park – WildLands developed a natural landscape for the new Visitor Center at Zion National Park. The project involved landscape design, exotics control, soil amendments, seed collection, plant propagation, irrigation, installation of 14,000 plants, and protection from deer browsing. We propagated a large quantity of various native plant species for the 9-acre site. The client was very pleased with the landscape, and its appealing presentation of native plants attracted the attention of the IMAX facility just outside the park. In fact, the manager subsequently hired us to create a similar landscape for the IMAX facility.