start by calling your COUNTY soil conservation district office ... probably associated with your extension office ... they should have lists of plants for this project ... because.. in essence .. you are building a wind block .. which is soil conservation ... many also have annual plant sales ...

second... i dont understand why you are blocking the view of the river... all the power to ya.. just curious ....

third.. NEVER plant all of one kind of anything ...

4th ... what zone are we talking about???

and lastly ... since you are planting on a distribution system ... the water... lets insure that you are not using anything invasive ...

ken

Picea abies (Norway spruce) and thuja Standishi/Plicata (green giants ) are hard to beat.

Bamboo...a running type like Phyllostachys nuda, aureosulcata, or bissetii. If you prefer to remain native, Cane Break is the native bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea). All are evergreen, dense, have expansive root systems, animal resistant, and are fast growing.

Thank you all of you for your input and comments.

In regards to the first comments question, I am not wanting to completely cover away the view of the river but I am wanting to make a type of screen or border between the river and the property. I was reading and found that its called Riparian Buffers.

2nd, I completely agree now that I have done further research. I am hoping to plant some trees and some evergreens to mix species, and retain the appearance.

With the above being said, I feel that I should consider mainly trees and evergreens(pine, spruce, etc.) and bushes. I am not really into bamboo as my fear is invasiveness but I would be interested in the norway spruce and green giant. Are they very fast growing and hardy and have deep root systems for living near a rivier?

Has anyone had experience with Murray Cypress or anything (dense pine, etc) related to such that grows supposedly very fast and dense?

Also, I called my extension office and the following link shows a sales page of what is available to me:http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/forest/nurserycatalog.pdf

What should I consider? This property is 30 acre and I am willing to purchase as much seedlings to make this a reality. Also, should I consider seedlings, or maybe a bit older trees? Does anyone have a reputable wholesale nursery where I could purchase trees a t much discounted price but arent too young or seedlings?

Thank you for your assistance.

I would plant more than 2-3 feet from the river or you may eventually lose the trees due to flooding.

Regular old white cedar, thuja occidentalis is found in wet areas naturally, it grows fairly fast, 12 - 18 inches per year after it's established. Both the Norway spruce and the green giants will grow a little faster.

Not sure trees are really what you want, if you want to keep the view. Also, most animals would not be stopped by trees.

American holly *IS* hardy where you are, beautiful, evergreen, and quite a barrier with the spiky leaves...not good for the spots that actually flood, though.

Shorter, but Virinia Rose is good for stabilization, pretty, and has thorns that make quite a barrier.

What about speckled alder and bayberry? Both nitrogen fixers good for stream bed stabilization. Alder isn't evergreen, though.

What about tamarack? Baldycypress isn't evergreen but is very pretty and tolerates flooding.

I'd purchase seedlings for a project this big. Cheaper. Also, trees that grow on site from a young age often have better root systems.

I'd contact the New York State Tree Nursery...they are near you and awesome.

Also, I called my extension office and the following link shows a sales page of what is available to me:http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/forest/nurserycatalog.pdf

==>>> brilliant.. you are on the right track ... plus the link above.. and google musser forest for good small stock ...

lets get straight to the next variable ... how old are you .. lol...

the next issue.. is how many you can plant in the short planting season .... do you have experience.. do you have a dibble bar ... see link below ...

the biggest mistake you can make... is buying more plants than you can plant.. in the short period of planting ...

which goes hand in hand with the downfall of instant gratification ... when doing this type of project ...

my soil conservation dist has a plant sale at planting time in spring.. and a second in the fall planting season ... if you you break your project down into planting seasons.. and make it a 2 to 4 year job... you will have much much success ... IMHO ...

ken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUzeruQT8xE

IME not much in the way of plants provide sufficient barrier to keep out bears or deer - people are easier. We have both along with the occasional moose, but IME they all would just as soon not hang out where we are, though if you have plants that deer enjoy, they will find a way to eat them, short of a deer-proof fence. DH periodically remarks that he has seen the south end of a north-bound bear, but it's quite rare to see a bear if s/he sees you first. I am not sure if we would ever see them if we didn't have a corn field next door.

As Ed Lincoln said, you will have to choose between views of the river and a privacy screen, since if it is dense enough to provide privacy, it will also be dense enough so you can't see the river. It looks like a big river in your area, but I don't know what kind of current, or how high the bank is, or how much the river level changes from high flood to low water, and all those things will influence what will grow along the bank. If you can add some of that information, you may get more effective suggestions for your needs.

I live on a river large enough for small power boats, and with an annual difference between flood level and low water of something like 15 feet in height; happily my bank is something like 30 feet near the house, so no flood danger. Around here, what grows on the river bank where it is exposed to current during spring flood includes silver maple, some shrubby willows, and shrubby dogwoods along with grasses and some other herbaceous plants, but no evergreens and not many other deciduous trees or shrubs. There are more plants that are fine with wet soil, but don't seem to like much current - gray birch, yellow birch, red maple, Nyssa sylvatica/black gum, various alders, "white cedar"/Thuja occidentalis, Rhododendron viscisum/swamp rhododendron, Clethra alnifolia/summersweet, Ilex verticillata/ winterberry holly, Cephalanthus occidentalis/button bush, swamp rose/Rosa palustris, and lots of herbaceous plants. All of these are deciduous, but some grow densely enough that a a couple of layers of plants will screen well. A couple of deciduous conifers that like wet and will grow in your area include dawn redwood/Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Taxodium/bald cypress. I've never seen them growing where they get much current, though.

With enough current, nothing will stop erosion, and eventually trees will have enough roots undercut that they will fall over in storms, but if your current is slow, that may not be an issue for you. Another consideration is that if you have beaver, you will need to protect your trees with a wire mesh barrier solidly attached to a stake and checked after every flood. I think 3' high or so should be sufficient.