The streambed was dry during the channel reconstruction.  A D-5 bulldozer, a backhoe, and a 2 cy loader were used to shape the channel, reconstruct the bank, and place the heavy biotechnical structural components (boulders and rootwads).  Shasta College Heavy Equipment students demonstrated their skills by successfully removing the sandbar and moving the material up against the eroding streambank, forming a new bank.  The new bank was shaped and graded to a 4:1 slope.  In some areas, there was not enough material to completely rebuild the vertical bank all the way to the top.  It was determined that the bank would be finished at a later time, with additional funding.  Vegetation and boulders from the previous toe protection project were salvaged in order to place on and within the loose excavated material.  The project provided an opportunity for the college students to perform actual landform restoration work using heavy equipment, while also learning about the delicate nature of stream ecosystems.

The backhoe was used to dig large holes over 2 m (6 ft) deep in the channel until the water table was reached.  Large diameter willow and Populus spp. (cottonwood) poles (which were salvaged on site) were placed in these holes.  This biotechnical revegetation technique, called “pole planting”, ensures that the basal ends of the live poles receive good contact with the vadose zone and water table in the soil, so irrigation is not required in the dry summer months.  This technique was also combined with rootwad revetments, which direct high-energy flows away from the new banks, and also create scour pools and fish habitat.  A total of six rootwads were installed for this project.  The rootwads were obtained from a subdivision development, and the trunks were not long enough to key into the banks.  The short trunks (boles) were anchored using only rocks and live pole cuttings. 

Only natural materials such as the rootwads, rock, and willow and cottonwood poles were chosen to protect the banks along the restored channel reach.  In-stream structures such as vortex weirs and boulder clusters had been considered, but depositional features (central and transverse bars) are common in F3 type reaches related to the high sediment supply (Rosgen, 1996).  The extensive use of in-stream structures was rejected because of the expected sediment supply and the probable deposition during the backwater periods.  As a trial, one boulder cluster comprised of four 500 kg (1/2 ton) granite boulders was constructed in mid-channel.