Laughlin Wetland Restoration

In December 2020, Fred Phillips Consulting had the remarkable opportunity to perform wetland restoration work right in the middle of a major avian migratory flyway along a part of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. This portion of the River’s side channels, under a previous owner, was subject to dredging that displaced much of the native aquatic habitat that had provided erosion stability and habitat for wetland birds. With the channel under new ownership and the support of Clark County, the time became ripe for healing these wetlands.

The species harvested and planted for this wetland mitigation project was Typha latifolia—the common cattail. The FPC restoration crew worked in concert with the daily dam release water flows to harvest cattails during morning highwater, while the afternoons were reserved for planting the cattail plugs on the bald, muddy shoal. Cattails were primarily harvested from nearby locations that provided robust rhizome and shoot materials.

In total, the crew successfully harvested and transplanted 1,164 3” cattail plugs. Owing to the extremely fast growth rate of cattails, migrating birds and waterfowl will very soon be able to use this area as another habitable stopover.

Project Slide Show