Floating wetlands can be installed to uptake excess nutrients in water, to create habitat complexity, for water bird nesting, to provide shade and refugia for fish, to establish shoreline willow, and to benefit many species of wildlife. Floating wetlands are also known as floating vegetation mats or floating vegetation islands, are being used all over the world, and have been featured in tens of thousands of research papers. Floating wetlands have been shown to improve water quality, particularly in areas affected by ranching, farming, or industry, and can enhance habitat in a variety of aquatic environments that would benefit from additional shade and structure. Methow Okanogan Beaver Project became interested in installing floating wetlands when the Doran family’s Walking D Ranch pond showed high total phosphorus (nutrient) levels and chronic algae blooms. 

A majority of floating wetlands in use today are constructed primarily of plastics, which leach volatile organic compounds, phthalates, and microplastics into aquatic systems. Natural floating wetlands, though potentially shorter in lifespan, serve a similar ecological function, without releasing future pollutants into the environment. Natural floating wetlands have been constructed using various methods worldwide, but even these often include plastic capped pipes for buoyancy, and/or peat or coconut coir as a substrate. This project explores alternatives to plastic, peat, and coir in floating wetlands, which each come with significant ecological cost. 

Our natural floating wetlands showcase the creativity and ingenuity of community members and restoration practitioners who designed and built structures that a) support ecological health, b) foster responsible materials selection, and c) cost substantially less than $2,000, the cost of a comparable commercial product. 

While these structures have been placed in ponds, they can also be installed for habitat, shade, and water quality improvement in lakes, river side channels, and in the pools of beaver dam analogs. The natural construction materials become especially important when the structures integrate into the ecosystem.  

The natural floating wetlands team is excited to monitor our structures, comparing structural longevity, plant survival, and buoyancy over time, to determine which designs and processes to replicate throughout the region.