Beginning in the 1880’s, widespread gullying deeply incised streams throughout the West. Therefore, riparian restoration work has often focused on ways to stabilize rapidly eroding waterways. Where channel engineering is not cost-effective, native species plantings are promoted to inhibit erosion and jump-start channel aggradation. But the combined impacts of a changing climate and continuing vegetation disturbance mean that some streams will continue to evolve toward ever-changing equilibria of stream power and sediment load. Without a stable bank-full or predictable hydrograph to inform restoration efforts, engineered solutions and native riparian species plantings may catastrophically fail. However, even in highly impacted riparian areas, strategically located native species plantings can create resilient wildlife habitat. This talk examines a long-term riparian restoration effort on La Jencia Creek using repeat photography and aerial imagery. La Jencia is located at 5,000 feet in the uplands west of Socorro, NM. Current vegetation in the 288 square mile watershed consists of a mix of intact grassland and degraded shrubland. Landscape-scale watershed alteration and degradation extend far beyond the project boundary, so current floods occur more frequently, are ‘flashier’, and of higher volume than in the past. La Jencia creek has incised approximately 100 feet into fine sediments during the 20th century and rapid erosion and channel migration continue. In the wake of several ‘100-year floods’ in the last 15 years, over-meander cutoffs have significantly shortened and steepened the channel and initiated further channel incision. Restoration work began in 2006, when WildEarth Guardians, a nonprofit environmental advocacy and restoration organization, removed cattle and began invasive species removal. Native, locally-sourced riparian trees and shrubs were subsequently planted along a 2 mile project reach by volunteers and staff. While return to a pre-incision hydrograph or geomorphology may not be possible in a changing landscape, large improvements in riparian habitat are still within reach. This talk will demonstrate how native species planting techniques can succeed even in the context of continuing rapid channel evolution.