Drain 27 Wetland Restoration Native Plantings

The Drain 27 Wetland Restoration Native Plantings Project is located just south of Fargo, North Dakota, near Horace. The project aims to mitigate wetland impacts caused by the construction of the Fargo Moorhead Metropolitan (FMM) Area Flood Risk Management Project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), St. Paul District, awarded a $2 million contract to Red Bison Services, LLC, out of Kenner, Louisiana, to establish and maintain native vegetation for a wetland restoration project area near Horace, North Dakota, as part of the FMM Area Flood Risk Management Project.

As a subconsultant to Red Bison, RES completed site prep activities throughout the 2023 growing season. It started with a combination of site prep herbicide application with RES operators and a helicopter spraying service as a subcontractor to do a site-wide spray of the entire 300-acre site. After a month or so had passed, the spraying was followed by a site-wide prep mowing by RES operators. Forestry mowing of approximately five acres of invasive brush was completed in December 2023.

RES operators installed native seed in Fall 2023 with 110 acres of mesic prairie seed, 45 acres of wet prairie seed, 80 acres of wet meadow seed, and 30 acres of emergent seed all installed at that time.

The RES advisory services team will complete five years of vegetation and hydrology monitoring as well as draft annual reports to be submitted to the prime and owner.