After receiving the grant from the Great Lakes Commission, IPF was only able to remove some dead trees from the area before EGLE denied their plans to place rock and other natural materials to rebuild and hold the riverbank. 

"I don’t think we’re in any danger, but if it’s not fixed then it definitely may be a problem in the future," Bailey said. 

EGLE denied the restoration project because adding rocks and materials to the slope of the banks may cause greater flooding risks in the area, according to Bailey. The grant funding was pulled shortly after. 

IPF is attempting to remove the weir on campus, a process that was started before the pandemic but never fully realized. 

"It would lower the flooding stage of the entire stretch of river from the weir down," Bailey said. "That would really kind of open up the possibility to restore the rest of the banks of the Red Cedar all the way down for the future if that weir was removed."

For now, IPF is banking on plants to hold the soil and slow erosion. They have planted some native species on the river bank. 

Arboretum and invasive species coordinator for Beal Garden Carolyn Miller said the north side of the riverbank, where the garden is, doesn’t seem to be threatened. 

"Fortunately, in the Beal Garden area, our slope is not as steep so our side has not been undercut compared to the southside of the bank," Miller said. "The majority of the north side is just a few feet above the river level so it is not nearly as steep."

Between the library bridge and Beal Street, the removal of invasive species on the bank has been a priority for Miller. A grant from EGLE previously allowed Miller and some students to remove invasive species there, but the grant was not received again after the first season. 

"(The bank is) loaded with invasive shrub species," Miller said. "It’s buckthorn and honeysuckle. Those are the two big ones."

Miller said her idea was to remove invasive species in small increments in the fall season and re-plant native species in those bare areas during the spring. 

"On a point of sustainability, I would like to see us get more of the invasive shrubs out and then just use simple native shrub whips in the springtime, getting those into the ground so that there’s something there to support the soil." Miller said. 

While native plants are an option to hold soil on the bank, the effects of climate change might overrule the efforts. 

"It depends on climate change," Miller said. "It really does because if we get these intense storms with just a deluge of rain... It’s just really hard to say what will happen in the future. What if we get 20 inches of rain at some point? The bank and the erosion really need to be addressed."

Professor of fisheries and wildlife Daniel Hayes said climate change will likely change the intensity of flooding experienced by the Red Cedar. 

"If weather events become more extreme, then we just make flooding more extreme," Hayes said. "We can’t say this recent flooding in North Carolina is entirely due to climate change but what can be said is that statistically it makes it more likely to happen."

Watersheds with more pavement can also cause rivers to flood worse and faster and the bigger the flood the bigger the erosion, he said. While erosion is not inherently bad, excessive erosion can be. 

"Rivers erode," Hayes said. "That’s their job, they make mountains into mole hills. Excessive erosion puts too much sediment in the rivers and that’s not good for fish or other aquatic life."

Hayes said it’s understandable to want to prevent erosion when it threatens sidewalks, roads or buildings, but sometimes the prevention methods used can actually make the problem worse for the riverbanks further down the stream if they aren’t done correctly.

"EGLE is fairly conservative about any kind of work that happens in rivers and truthfully, sometimes what happens is we try to stop erosion in one place but the river says 'my job is to erode,' and it’s just going to erode a different place," Hayes said. "Putting rocks or hard surfaces tends to protect one little area, but it tends to move all that energy somewhere else."

Hayes thinks soft engineering projects where permits aren’t necessary can be used to protect essential infrastructure when it comes to erosion on the Red Cedar. 

"I’d start thinking long run, how do we get our infrastructure away from those critical spots or how do we not build anything new in those critical spots?" Hayes said. "If there’s a sidewalk that might become eroded, do we need the sidewalk there? Or can we move it? Is fighting nature the wise move or not?"