Benefits of Working for a Restoration Company

“One of the benefits of working for a restoration company is the variety of landscapes we encounter. The work is physically demanding and challenging but the rewards are well worth it when your “office” is a scenic vista on a quiet morning. Here we see a CSR Field Specialist walking into an isolated area. Not a bad morning commute, I’d say. This photo was taken in Utah while on a lop and scatter project.” -Lance Bennett, CSR Idaho Regional Manager

If you are interested in becoming a part of the CSR Team, we are currently looking for Field Specialists in both the Idaho and Colorado regions. Click here for more details.

Calder Reservoir Lop and Scatter, UT

CSR recently completed a wildfire fuel reduction and improved wildlife habitat project near the Calder Reservoir in Utah. The project encompassed 260 acres within two areas and consisted of hand cutting (lop and scatter) standing live Pinion Pine and Juniper trees and saplings.

Stream Restoration Site Visit

Stream restoration site visit southwest of Casper, WY.

CSR, Inc.’s restoration practices lead the environmental and native restoration industry. The design, installation, and stewardship of native functioning ecosystems is the primary focus of our company.

Before any restoration design or installation can be completed, research and monitoring of the site and surrounding areas is done so that an accurate baseline of data is established.

Gibson Gulch Habitat Improvement Project, CO

The Gibson Gulch Habitat Improvement project, located in Colorado, consisted of 50 acres of sagebrush mowing and 50 acres of dense Pinion Pine and Juniper mastication. This project was initiated by the BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office and will improve mule deer and elk winter range.

Enter WaterSense’s Water-Smart Landscape Photo Contest

CSR’s Lance Bennett installing a residential “nativescape” in southern Idaho.

 We have all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, so WaterSense is showcasing just how beautiful, efficient, and diverse low water-using landscapes can be! Enter WaterSense’s Water-Smart Landscape Photo Contest by submitting your photo(s) today!

Participation is easy and open to the public, including homeowners, landscape designers, irrigation professionals, and anyone else committed to saving water for future generations! Multiple submissions are welcome and photos can depict landscapes from any time of the year (or even past years).

Photos of landscapes that depict water-smart landscaping principles in an attractive way will be featured in the Water-Smart Landscape Photo Gallery next spring (with submitter credit). WaterSense will give priority to photos presenting landscapes with:

• Drought tolerant, low water-using, or native plants
• Mulch around shrubs and garden plants
• Limited or functional use of turfgrass
• Water-efficient irrigation design and components (e.g., micro or drip irritation, weather-based irrigation controllers, etc.)

WaterSense will share some of the best, water-efficient and aesthetically pleasing submissions on the EPA WaterSense Facebook page for voting. One or more photos earning the most votes will be showcased as WaterSense’s model(s) of a water-smart landscape in the program’s leading materials on outdoor water use and in other venues.

Submit your photo today! The deadline to enter is February 15, 2013.

Ruby Pipeline Stream Restoration, Fall 2012

Bitterbrush planting from our spring 2012 installation.

Ponderosa Pine

The CSR team was in Oregon this month completing stream restoration work along the Ruby Pipeline.  Seven individual areas were targeted for additional restoration: native seed installation and soil incorporation for erosion control and stabilization; removal and rearrangement of rocks for fish passage; various trash removal; regrading rills and repairing waterbars; and installing straw wattles where necessary.

Whitney Canyon Gas Plant, Native Seeding

CSR’s Wyoming Crew recently finished 3 acres of broadcast seeding, 2,250 linear feet of sediment and debris cleanup along erosion wattles, and installed 300 feet of fencing for the Whitney Canyon Gas Plant near Evanston, Wyoming.

Multi-Phase Native Restoration

Conservation Seeding and Restoration Inc has begun another native restoration near Gooding, Idaho. To begin, CSR’s Natural Resource Department gathered data/monitoring information of existing plant composition, and then compiled a multi-phase restoration plan. Once the plan was established, a controlled burn was done to make way for native plant seeding and a live plant installation of Antelope Bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata. Next, the entire site  was scouted and treated for noxious weeds such as Canada thistle and Russian knapweed. Restoration will continue with chemical spot treatments for cheatgrass and continued monitoring.

Converting to a Native Lawn

CSR recently completed another lawn conversion. Changing the composition of a lawn system from bluegrass to a blend of native grasses has multiple benefits. Not only does the new native lawn require less water, mowing, and fertilizers, it also has both cool season and warm season grasses. This allows for earlier greening of the lawn in the spring and longer greening in the fall. Once established a native turf lawn requires little water. One client has only watered their native lawn as few as five times a year!

Truckin’

“The Duke” a.k.a. Keith Henstock, CSR’s Fleet Manager, making ready for a trip to Wyoming and Colorado with various equipment and materials needed for our restoration work: 5 pallets of native seed, a spray truck and deck mower for the CSR Rifle CO nursery for weed control needs, and UTV and trailer for the new CSR office in Casper, Wyoming.