Lynn Betts, NRCS

Lands that border rivers, streams, and other bodies of water are referred to as riparian areas. These diverse environments contain vegetation that influences the nature of the stream, including its water temperature, which in turn affects aquatic life. Riparian areas also provide a link to the adjacent upland (or non-aquatic land), and, especially in the arid West, are extremely important as a source for water and food for a wide variety of wildlife and domestic grazing animals.

Why are riparian areas important to birds and the environment?

A healthy riparian system filters sediments, stabilizes banks, stores water, recharges aquifers, provides forage and habitat for fish and other wildlife, controls erosion, and maintains clean water quality. Riparian areas also support many warblers, waterbirds, and other bird species, including several species on Audubon's WatchList, by providing both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates for food, and dense vegetation for reproductive efforts. In some regions, such as New Mexico's Chihuahuan desert, more than 90 percent of the region's wildlife depends on riparian areas for at least part of their life.

In rural areas, overgrazing can decimate a riparian buffer. In urban and suburban settings, the volume of runoff from impervious surfaces degrades and erodes stream banks. Even where volume is not a problem, non-point source pollution from automotive fluids, fertilizers, and other chemicals threaten the quality of the water and its ability to sustain a healthy aquatic ecosystem.

Getting Started: What You Can Do

Develop a management plan for your property that protects riparian areas and water quality. Begin with an inventory of natural resources and wildlife on the property. The inventory, as well as the management plan, can be formulated with the help of experts, such as range specialists, biologists, foresters, and others. When developing management plans, consider the following questions.

• What conditions will be needed to allow the stream to resume its natural function?
• What type of restoration would best renew the ecological integrity of the riparian area and stream?
• What type of volunteer groups (e.g. scouts) can help with the restoration?
• Are there key bird species or other wildlife species of concern that depend on the riparian zone, and how can the riparian land be managed to best support those species?

Helpful Links

• Stream Corridor Restoration
  
• My Place on a Stream
  
• USGS: Birds as Indicators of Riparian Vegetation Condition in the Western U.S.
  
• Oregon State University - What is a Riparian Area?
  
• The Quivira Coalition: The Value of Riparian Areas to Ranchers
  
• Rangelands West: Water and Riparian Area Issues of Western Rangelands
  
• Virginia State University: Understanding the Science Behind Riparian Forest Buffers: Effects on Plant and Animal Communities
  
• University of Maryland Cooperative Extension: When a Landowner Adopts a Riparian Buffer: Benefits and Costs (pdf download)
  
• University of Maryland Cooperative Extension: Riparian Forest Buffer Design, Establishment, and Maintenance (pdf download)
  
• Iowa State University: Riparian Buffer Systems
  
• Backyard Buffers (from the Connecticut Rivers Joint Commision) (pdf download)