On October 12, 2023, a helicopter hovered over a remote wetland near Startup, Washington, lowering nearly 90 wooden platforms packed with native trees and shrubs onto saturated ground. Led by the Tulalip Tribes’ Department of Natural Resources, the operation launched an ambitious five-year experiment to reclaim a field dominated by invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea).
Each platform, assembled at the Wallace Creek Hatchery, carried a young native tree and four shrubs, for a total of around 450 plants. The platforms were designed to create small vegetated mounds in areas where deep channels and active beaver populations made ground access dangerous. Helicopter delivery let the team avoid damaging the fragile wetland with heavy vehicles. The method is increasingly used in river and wetland restoration across the Pacific Northwest.
Testing Restoration Methods
The project was structured as a controlled experiment. Researchers established nine plots. Three received the pre-planted platforms, while another three were planted with 350 live willow stakes each. The remaining three were left untreated as controls. Each plot measured roughly 15 by 18 meters. Before installation, researchers measured existing plant cover to provide a baseline for future comparisons.
This design lets the team compare the platform method with traditional willow staking and natural recovery. The goal is to determine which approach best supports native vegetation and suppresses the invasive grass through shade and competition.
Early Results and Ongoing Monitoring
Initial monitoring in May 2024 brought cautious optimism: nearly all trees on the platforms survived the first winter, though a bear disturbed some of them. The Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Technical Committee reported that each plot containing 30 platforms cost about $9,519 to install. These early survival rates, but, do not prove ecological recovery. The project will be monitored annually for at least five years to track whether native plants can establish themselves and reduce the dominance of reed canarygrass.
As of 2025, no final data on the reduction of invasive grass cover had been published. The project’s success will depend on whether the new vegetation can persist and provide enough shade to suppress the grass. Reed canarygrass forms dense monocultures and clogs channels critical for fish and wildlife.
Why Reed Canarygrass Is a Problem
Reed canarygrass is considered a major threat to Washington’s wetlands. It crowds out native plants and reduces habitat quality for wildlife. It also accelerates the filling of channels used by salmon and other species. Establishing native trees and shrubs could eventually restore ecological balance and improve conditions for juvenile salmon before their migration to the ocean.
This experiment is part of a broader trend in ecological restoration, where teams test new methods to combat invasive species and revive degraded habitats. Similar challenges with invasive pests and plants have been reported elsewhere, including persistent weevil infestations in Spanish pantries during summer, as detailed in this recent analysis.
For now, the Oxbow Wetland Pallet Project remains under close observation. Its outcome could influence future restoration strategies in wetlands and floodplains across the region. Definitive results will emerge only after several more years of monitoring and data collection.
