Carson River, 2014. The Nature Conservancy’s River Fork Ranch Preserve, Minden, Nevada.
270 feet long. Woven and live-staked Coyote Willow harvested from the river.
Photographer: Mary O’Brien.
Watershed Sculpture, the team of Daniel McCormick and Mary O’Brien, create art installations with a biological trajectory and remedial outcomes. Flood Plain Wall along the Carson River in Northern Nevada was one of five sculptures that Watershed Sculpture created on the Truckee and Carson Rivers in Northern Nevada. This 270 foot woven willow wall is designed to intensify the natural processes at work at a former dredging fill site. The sculpture retains seasonal flood waters from snow melt-off in the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. It provides additional wetlands, allows for a seasonal recharge of the riparian zone, and concentrates avian resources for species such as the Western Fly Catcher, migrating warblers, and Sandhill Cranes. The artists’ design for this installation creates a riparian buffer that also addresses the habitat needs of endangered Western Pond Turtles and Monarch Butterflies. Community volunteers contributed 2,300 hours to complete the artists’ projects.
