
PBR Design & Implementation
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Entire project design from the valley bottom to the uplands
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Project consultation
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Implementation at the structure level
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Targeted species restoration

Riparian Corridor
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Riparian planting
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Riparian relief cuts

Building PBR Structures
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Beaver dam analogues (BDA)
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Large woody debris jams
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Post-assisted log structures (PALS)
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Mid-channel structures
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Bank-attached structures
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Fish refugia

Forest Management
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Upland forest thinning
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Cone collecting
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Fuels to flow upland gully stuffing

Training Opportunities
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Workshop collaboration
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In-house training

Fire Resilient Landscapes
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Post fire restoration
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Hazard tree removal
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Emergency sediment catchment
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In its essence, the creation of Upstream is a love story. The story begins in earlier times, as two wild women individually navigated this world by following their hearts and passions - independently designing our lives to center our devotion to the natural world. In following our meandering heart paths towards land-based
stewardship, we found ourselves at a confluence in the Process-Based Restoration (PBR) community. In the middle of a watershed, in the middle of nowhere, witnessed by a mountain meadow, we, a couple of two-legged beavers, fell in love with each other. The kind of love that gives that same fuzzy feeling that one gets when floodplains reconnect, riparian vegetation
recovers, fish jump, or beavers move back into where you once worked. Pure exalted bliss.
From our love for this work, our love for each other, and for the love of the land, we launched Upstream Ecology – a business providing PBR design and implementation services. To us, our work goes beyond just the watersheds, it extends into exploring the intersection of water, fire, soil, seeds, community, and spirituality. We invite you to join us on this journey. So please reach out!
Of course, we did not get here on our own. We owe so much of where we are today to many, human & non-human alike, and we would be remiss not to express our deep gratitude to some of those. Naturally we honor the
beaver – our teacher, inspiration, mascot, and guide – they’ve been stewarding watersheds for 5 million more years than us. With great respect we honor the Mountain Maidu – their unceded territory in which we live &; who continue to tend and advocate for this land and are inspirational leaders in the reintegration of the beaver to our ecosystems. We thank the generous and supportive PBR community, who are championing us and our new business. Lastly, we praise Great Mother Earth who gives and gives and gifts continually. The greatest example of unconditional love.
May we thank you through our time, energy, prayers, and working hands.
We have so much to learn.
About Us
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“Process: a going, a journey, a natural phenomenon
marked by gradual changes.”
We are a Process Based Restoration (PBR) company based in Mountain Maidu territory in Northern California that works throughout the western states, from the headwaters to the valley bottoms. We aim to accelerate the regeneration of biologic, hydrologic, and geomorphic processes in watersheds. Building relationships with the land, each other, and local communities is the resin that holds us and this work together.
We work with Tribes, agencies and landowners to design, implement and monitor PBR projects, tailoring our approach to support each site’s natural potential. We mimic the work of beavers in degraded low-gradient systems and build structures to promote the natural processes of sediment transport, large wood accumulation, groundwater
residence time, and floodplain connectivity. Looking upstream and out of the channel, we seek to find the edges where regenerative efforts can overlap or integrate. (i.e. using PBR in aspen recovery, uplands treatment for carbon sequestration and water storage, and coordinated fuels treatments for fire resilience.) Our goal is to promote positive
ecosystem change at scales larger than any one project area and restoring ecosystem functions.
The Work

Upstream Ecology
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Partnerships
Cal-PBR Network
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services
U.S. Forest Service
Klamath Meadows Partnership
Sierra Meadows Partnership
Sonoma County Regional Parks
Plumas Corps
Shelterwood Collective
North Bay Jobs for Justice
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Swift Water Design
Symbiotic Restoration
Scott River Watershed Council
CAL FIRE