Article contributed by Hanna Goss, NOAA Coastal Services Center.

In the past, severe storms felled large trees and swept them into rivers, streams, estuaries, and even into the ocean, where they created a variety of natural habitats. For about the past hundred years, the number and size of trees being carried downstream has decreased, and the trees that do make it into the water are often removed to facilitate boating and prevent damage to dams, culverts, and other development.

Returning "large wood" to the natural system has become a well-known method for restoring stream habitat, but the South Slough Reserve has recently used this method to restore juvenile salmon habitat and to develop an environmentally friendly canoe access ramp.

"Large wood in an estuary hasn't been much on people's radar screens," says Mike Graybill, Reserve manager. "We're helping to influence how other people are approaching habitat work in estuaries."