Oxbow Restorations

Oxbow wetlands are small wetlands that are restored from former meandering streams. They take the shape of an oxbow, or a shallow “U” shape. Often, there will be a u-shaped depression in the landscape next to the streams, which is the vestigial remains of the former meandering streams.

These depressions can often be excavated, and tile outlets can be diverted to the excavated site to allow flow to the oxbow wetland before the water moves in the stream channel, filtering sediments and nutrients that run off-field.

Oxbows provide many of the same ecosystem services to the environment that wetlands do, just at a smaller scale. They take far fewer acres out of production and the cost of construction is much less than a traditional wetland.