Been following this thread a bit. I think we have all seen the "scum line" 2' up the bank from sleds, and as a sled operator I have also ran through a run, and then when drifting back through it seen the sediment flowing along the bank.

So, I realize it is true about bank raveling due to sled operation, but isn't there a lot of blame to be placed on the riverside landowners as well? The lower river (good case around Glick's and the long stretch below the Baker hole) used to have much more "character" than it currently does. By that I mean there used to be large woody debris, creating the river hydraulics that hold fish. The Satsop used to be famous for "fishing in the wood", but now there is almost no wood left to fish around.

The simple fact is that too much of the river margin has been utilized for farming, and the riparian zones that were left, have been gobbled up by the river, and in a lot of places you just see a dirt bank, where you used to see a treed/brushy area. So far, I have not seen any man made bank revetments that have worked on this river.

If I had private property on the river I wouldn't use my sled that much either. I would also be looking like crazy at how I would be stablizing my bank, about 100 yards from the river, not right on it.