T HE S TREAMSIDE S ENTINEL News Making Waves on Waters A Healthy River is More than Water Streamside Woodlands Offer Countless Benefits

Wood Ducks The Rapport in a Riparian Buffer Trees and Shrubs Along Streams Foster Healthy Ecosystems

belted kingfisher smacks the water and emerges with a fish still squiggling in

its bill. Old silver maples cast IVISION Apleasant streamside shadows on a D

hot summer day. And a family of minks RAVEL scampers along the shoreline before T slipping into the river.

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These are images from healthy rivers V and streams with adjacent shrubs or woodlands known as riparian buffers. any of Vermont’s most Farmers often replaced strips of stream- Or ask anyone who wants nothing more These are not exotic places. Although useful and valuable side vegetation with crops. And loggers than to doze in the shade by a stream as they can have rare or endangered species, properties include the cut trees to the water’s edge. The results songbirds warble above and mink swim riparian buffers tend to be composed of wooded or shrubby areas were unstable streambanks and unpre- below. Streamside woodlands are critical common plant species. They might Mbeside rivers and streams. These dictable rivers. to them all. include box elder, red maple, black streamside woodlands are among our But our view of rivers is beginning Neglected for far too long, streamside willow, speckled alder and dogwood. best-kept secrets. Few people know of to change. Vermonters now know that woodlands, often called riparian buffers, Older riparian zones may have mature their many benefits – everything from native streamside vegetation is as are now recognized for their economic tree species much more tolerant of reducing flood damage to providing important to a healthy river as water and environmental values. They stabilize stream banks. They protect waterways “Riparian Buffer” continued on page 10 habitat for wildlife, from filtering itself. Ask an angler looking for the best pollutants to giving privacy to land- fishing spot. Ask a farmer who wants to from pollutants and shield land from owners. keep land from eroding and washing flooding. They provide shade and food New Video Illustrates But streamside woodlands haven’t away. Ask a road commissioner who for fish and travel corridors for wildlife. Importance of always been valued or protected. can expend half his annual budget on a They reduce damage to private property The state and towns cleared these areas single washout. Ask a hunter, tracker, and public roads and bridges by Streamside Woodlands and built roads alongside river banks. trapper or naturalist looking for wildlife. “A Healthy River” continued on page 10 Here’s a block- buster you won’t find in the local video store: The Vermont ivers en R Money Can Grow on Trees Wh e Agency of Natural ecom B : How table Resources is Uns bank public and private expense. And this is tream an distributing a S nds C odla ct one of many floods. Wo Prote video about the Help Streamside vegetation can’t always Land importance of streamside prevent disasters, but it certainly curbs vegetation. “When Rivers the cost of pollution control or flood Become Unstable: How Streambank damage and contributes overall to the Woodlands Can Help Protect Land, ” quality of life in Vermont. In short, is designed for landowners, town stable rivers help create a more stable officials, schools, watershed groups economy. And one of the most cost- or any citizen interested in Vermont effective ways to maintain a stable river rivers and water quality. It illustrates system, to keep it free of pollutants and how streamside vegetation maintains full of fish, to keep its water safe to stable river banks, protects property, drink and clear for swimming, is to

reduces flood damage and phospho- AHOON protect or restore its vegetated buffers. rus pollution and improves water C “Left to grow up naturally, riparian

quality. ARRY B buffers are a free investment in stabiliz- Featuring interviews with river Tyler Branch, Enosburg, 1997 ing our rivers and protecting water experts, landowners and community quality,” says Stephan Syz of the members, the 20-minute video offers treamside woodlands aren’t When rivers lose their trees and Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. practical advice on the preservation only critical for stable rivers shrubs, Vermont’s tourism-dependent The financial benefits and the and restoration of streamside buffers. and healthy wildlife popula- economy – from boating to avoided expenses from streamside To get your copy, contact: buffers are difficult to estimate. It is Agency of Natural Resources tions, they are sound invest- birdwatching – suffers a loss of scenic mentsS as well. and recreational quality and value. hard to put a figure on a healthy trout Division of Water Quality stream or a streamside forest that filters 103 South Main Street, Bldg. 10 N When a family fertilizes the front And when torrential rain fell across pollutants. Waterbury, VT 05671-0408 lawn or a farmer turns cows out to Central Vermont in June of 1998, the But flooding is an awesome and (802) 241-3770 pasture, rainwater washes the harmful rivers rose to wash out roads and nutrient phosphorus into Vermont bridges, damage agricultural land and quantifiable expense. Between 1995 rivers and lakes. sweep away several homes – at huge “Money” continued on page 9 Page 2 Outdoors Streamside Sentinel

spots, Owen knows to cast his line in overhanging vegetation become instant The Angle on Angling stretches of river with a healthy fish food. And falling vegetation itself is streamside forest. food for the aquatic insects that are “It’s a roof over the fish’s head – ultimately eaten by the fish higher on Streamside Forests Offer Great Fishing it gives them a sense of security and the food chain. safety from predators,” Owen says. And finally, riparian buffers stabilize “Fish are always hiding out; they stream banks, which is also good for spend their life hiding out; they live fish and other aquatic wildlife. A long for it. Without that canopy of collapsed stream bank sends sediments trees they really are exposed to the into a river. Those sediments can settle elements.” in and fill deep water holes favorable Or ask someone like Rich Kirn, to fish. They can also fill rocky river district fisheries biologist with the bottoms, depriving fish of good places Vermont Fish and Wildlife Depart- to lay their eggs. Undercut banks, ment. When Rich talks about stream maintained by root systems, are prime fisheries, he emphasizes the overall habitat features for trout and other fish health of the stream – especially the species. riparian buffer. “Streams are constantly changing, “Particularly for the trout popula- and those where the riparian zones tion in Vermont, I think it’s the single have been disturbed are much more most important habitat protection prone to having collapsing banks and feature we have in the state for stream change from year to year – it creates fisheries because it does so many an unpredictable fishery,” Owen things,” Kirn says. explains. “Whereas something that’s Overhanging trees provide shade well braced by good vegetation is not and cooler waters when stream inclined to shift and change and is temperatures might otherwise rise to going to be more predictable for 80 degrees or more on hot summer fishing.” days. Brook trout, Vermont’s only “The best fishing is commonly nyone whose heart beats Chris Owen is one of them. A fly- native stream trout and one of the where there’s good vegetative cover,” faster at the thought of fisherman and fly-tier, he lives for the most popular fish species sought Owen adds. “If you’ve got a stretch hooking a trout or salmon second Saturday in April. Given the by resident anglers, are particularly of river that really is farmed right to from pristine waters knows choice, Owen would probably spend vulnerable to increased water the stream bank it often is not going Athat the riverbank can be as important more time in a river than in his office. temperatures. to be as productive as a well-covered as the river itself. And given the choice of fishing Moreover, insects that fall from stretch of water.”

Otter Creek, for example, or a big old pine beside the . But eagles are A Wild hardly the only wildlife species that frequent vegetated zones along rivers or lakes. From dusky salamanders to belted Place for kingfishers, from river otters to black bears, you can find a rich blend of wildlife in streamside buffers. At least, what’s left of these crucial habitats. Wildlife One admirer of streamside buffers, John Buck, a biologist with the Vermont t often takes you by surprise, Fish and Wildlife Department, put it this perhaps while you’re fishing or way: “Streamside buffers are an important out with the family at the lake. component in the landscape and we’ve You might do a double-take. But reduced them to sidewalks. We’ve reduced thereI is no mistaking the white head and them to nothing of their former selves.” white tail, the immense yellow beak Perhaps the best way to think of a and the imposing posture. A bald eagle. riparian buffer is as an ecosystem in itself – And when you’re lucky enough to a rich mixture of plants and animals at a find an eagle on a perch somewhere place where water meets land. Healthy in Vermont, thank a riparian buffer. streamside woods contribute to healthy Green Heron Bald eagles, which feed mostly on waters – providing food and shelter for fish, need streamside woods for nests everything from caddis flies to brook habitats separated by housing develop- eagles are recovering nationally – thanks or perches – a silver maple along the trout. Insects and fish are in turn food for ment, parking lots, farmland or open not only to the banning of the pesticide mammals and birds – river otter and spaces. DDT in the 1970s but also to preserva- belted kingfishers, for example, or mink So even though a particular riparian tion of their habitat. It’s one reason and bald eagles. zone may not include rare or abundant Vermonters are beginning to see eagles The Streamside Sentinel is a Crawling, scampering, jumping, wildlife, it nevertheless can still be along lakes and rivers. publication of the Vermont Agency walking or flying in streamside woods are important wildlife habitat if it connects But even a high-flying eagle needs of Natural Resources. Its purpose is mice and squirrels, frogs and salamanders, fragments of habitat. a perch now and then – not necessarily to inform Vermonters about the flycatchers and warblers. The Louisiana Similarly, many species of reptiles a perch that swims but certainly a perch importance of streamside shrubs waterthrush, a warbler with an explosive and amphibians need streamside in a riparian zone. and woodlands, which are often called riparian buffers. song and a funny, bobbing walk, nests woodlands to travel to new habitats. This publication has an accompa- almost exclusively in woods along rushing This kind of dispersal is key to main- nying video, “When Rivers Become streams. Where there are no woods, there taining a species’ genetic diversity and Streamside Unstable: How Streambank Woodlands can be no waterthrushes. resilience to disease and other threats. “ Can Help Protect Land,” explaining Wood ducks and hooded mergansers Vegetated corridors allow them to travel buffers are an for all audiences the value of riparian zones. Additional copies nest in tree cavities in swampy bottom- safely by land from one habitat to important of The Streamside Sentinel or the lands. And the woodcock, or “timber- another. video can be obtained from: doodle,” is often seen in wild breeding Finally, some species simply need component in the Agency of Natural Resources displays above wet, open fields, yet it both water and woods. The wood turtle landscape and we’ve Division of Water Quality depends on vegetated zones near wetlands spends much of its life in brooks and 103 South Main Street or rivers for feeding and nesting habitat. streams, hibernating in winter in the reduced them to Building 10 North Waterbury, VT 05671-0408 Streamside woods are also vital to sandy or muddy bottoms. But wood sidewalks. (802) 241-3770 wildlife not normally associated with rivers turtles move to surrounding upland We’ve reduced them – including game species. Riparian zones habitats during the warmer months of Research/Editor: Lori Barg are corridors for wildlife to move from the year. to nothing of their Funding for this document was drier, less diverse uplands to richer, Vermont’s wood turtle population former selves.” provided by the Basin riverside bottomlands. Black bears, for has been dropping in the last few – John Buck, Program through a grant from the example, won’t visit a streamside to feed decades. And one possible reason is the US Environmental Protection Agency without some vegetative cover. White- loss of wide streamside woods, particu- Vermont Fish and Wildlife (Grant # LC991923-01). tailed deer can use streamside woods as larly in agricultural areas. Biologist connecting routes between patches of Higher on the food chain, bald Streamside Sentinel Science Page 3

The Winooski River west of Plainfield, Vermont, has Keeping experienced massive changes in the area without Cows Out streamside vegetation. Aerial photographs from of Streams 1942 and 1979 were over- laid on this 1998 photo of the river. The river in the Reduces Without streamside lower part of the photo has Phosphorus vegetation, the river had trees and has stayed in channel changes the same channel since location, causing 1942. In the upper part of and Bacteria problems. the picture the river has cut new channels and changed in Waterways its course by up to 400 feet. he sight of cows grazing on a lush, green pasture is an Winooski River, Plainfield appealing part of 1998 Digital Ortho Photo TVermont’s landscape. But if a with overlays stream runs through the pasture, this scene may not be so good for Vermont’s waterways. Livestock in streams and rivers can destroy riparian vegetation, erode banks and put waste directly into the water. As a result, more sediment, nutrients and bacteria enter Vermont’s With streamside streams, rivers and lakes – vegetation, the ultimately harming wildlife and posing a threat to swimmers. river channel has 1942 course of river Can Vermonters improve remained stable. 1979 course of river water quality by fencing cows away from streams and letting

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A the stream banks and riparian zones heal with natural vegeta-

ARAH S tion? To answer that question a river scientist chose to study three adjacent small watersheds draining into the in northern Vermont. Farmers in two of the watersheds fenced therefore makes sense to focus control their streams and farmers in the efforts on farmland. third did not. The results have Stopping Phosphorus been encouraging. Inexpensive But new research on the Lake Champlain basin indicates that urban measures, such as fencing and areas are also a significant source of allowing natural vegetation to the Natural Way phosphorus. Pavement – driveways, grow along streambanks, streets, parking lots – can’t absorb water protected streams from the and its phosphorus-laden sediments. effects of grazing livestock and othing can live without Indeed, pavement gives polluted water significantly reduced the amounts phosphorus. Although it’s A 1999 study of speedy passage to rivers and lakes. of phosphorus, nitrogen and one of the most abundant Other urban sources of phosphorus bacteria entering waterways. elements on earth, phospho- phosphorus include lawn fertilizer, disturbed soils “Some of the riparian zones Nrus, along with nitrogen and potassium, during construction and, a significant were quite narrow, ” says Don movement into Lake are the three essential nutrients com- concern, pet droppings. Meals, director of the study. monly added to croplands and gardens. Champlain found that In fact, a 1999 study of phosphorus “Even a small amount of fencing But too much of a good thing is urban areas are a movement into Lake Champlain found and a narrow, natural riparian not so great for rivers and lakes. And disproportionate that urban areas are a disproportionate zone results in a strong improve- despite the reduction of phosphate source of the problem. Urban land ment in water quality. We found in most detergents years ago, phosphorus source of the constituted 5.5 percent of the approximately 20 to 40 percent remains an expensive problem, problem. Urban Champlain drainage basin, but contrib- reductions in phosphorus loads particularly in Lake Champlain and its uted 37 percent of the phosphorus. and 40 to 60 percent reductions tributaries. land constituted Agricultural land, 17 percent of the land in bacteria counts. These are Phosphorus and other nutrients 5.5 percent of the area, accounted for approximately significant results from a small can cause blooms of algae, which cloud 56 percent of the phosphorus. (Forests investment in land and money.” water and suffocate fish and other Champlain drainage made up 66 percent of aquatic life. Algal blooms can even grow basin, but contributed the land area but thick enough to snag a fishing line. As a 37 percent of the contributed only result, phosphorus reduces the economic 7 percent of the and recreational values of the state’s phosphorus. phosphorus.) rivers and lakes. So much of a problem The lesson is that is phosphorus that municipalities and phosphorus control farmers spend millions of dollars to not only begins on the control it. Riparian buffers can stop phosphorus farm, it begins at home Riparian buffers help curb the cost in its tracks. Vegetation and plant stems and in the neighbor- ARG

and clear the water. slow the flow of water rushing over land, hood as well. B

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Lakes are storage areas for phospho- allowing heavier, phosphorus-laden soils “We made a L rus. Waste treatment plants send their to settle out before they can reach a convincing case that agriculture is the “Even a small amount share of phosphorus into lakes. But river. Plants in riparian buffers can also lion’s share of the problem, said Don phosphorus also gets there attached take up the phosphorus. Meals, water quality project manager of fencing and a narrow, to soil particles that are either eroded or It would appear that farmland is who first analyzed sources of phospho- natural riparian zone washed by rains into waterways. Surface a great place to start controlling non- rus in the Champlain basin in the results in a strong runoff, sometimes called non-point point source phosphorus. After all, mid-1990s. “But at the same time you improvement in source pollution, is particularly hard to farmers apply tons of fertilizer to their can’t ignore the urban component. It’s water quality.” control and a huge source of phosphorus land each year, including manure, which a big factor.” – Don Meals in urban, suburban and agricultural areas. is a major source of phosphorus. It Page 4 Science Streamside Sentinel How to Read a River What Makes A River Unstable?

nyone who wants to understand the amazing forces in a river Stable Rivers – A stable riverbank changes very little, with minimal can count on two truths: water flows downhill and rivers change in location from year to year. Stable rivers have no large deposits of always change. Although we tend to think rivers carry only sand or gravel. There is minor natural erosion, and the river has the ability Awater, they actually carry water and sediment. A river channel develops – to move its water and sediment load in balance. and changes – in response to the amount of water and the sediment load Unstable Rivers – Unstable river systems can change their course by it typically carries. many feet per year, and sometimes cut new channels altogether. Unstable Water and sediment can exert awesome force on a riverbank. The river systems have large sections of collapsing banks; the river widens study of those forces is known as fluvial geomorphology. But Vermonters and/or cuts deeper into its channel, and sand and sediment fill natural don’t need a college degree in geology to understand the science. In one pools. The deposited sediment chokes aquatic life and can re-direct the sense, rivers can be easily viewed in two distinct ways: course of the river, causing even more erosion. Unstable River Systems

ermont has many miles of unstable rivers. They are not hard to identify. Just look for telltale signs: eroding Changes in Planform banks, for example, or large gravel bars. The changes in a Vriver that signify instability are divided into four categories: l Changes in Planform – These are the changes that can be seen from the air when looking down at the river. The river’s pattern has changed. This happens due to human intervention (such as straightening the bends of the river with heavy equipment). Planform changes also occur during floods. When there is no streambank vegetation, with roots to hold soil in place, rivers cut new channels in the weak part of the bank during high water. (See page 3 for additional example.) l Widening – Banks collapse, and the river becomes wider and shallower. A wider, shallower river does not have the same capacity to transport sediment. So sediment builds up in the channel.

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l Degradation – The river cuts deeper into the land. One result is that C

bridge footings are undermined and exposed. Degradation is sometimes ARRY caused by straightening a channel, which increases the slope of the river. B The water flows faster down this steeper slope and has extra energy to As a result of unstable stream banks, a new chute is beginning to move sediment, causing the river channel to cut deeper or degrade. be formed in the lower left of the photo. l Aggradation – Sediment loads pile up in the river. This happens when the sediment load increases and the river lacks the capacity to transport it. Piles of sediment in a river can re-direct flow against the banks, causing Widening yet more erosion. Rivers and their movement become easier to understand once we realize that the volume of water and amount of sediment are in a dynamic balance as they move downstream. If one changes, then the other changes in response. The Lane Scale on page 5 shows how changes in slope, sediment size and the load (or amount) of sediment and water can swing the balance of the stream from aggradation to degradation and back again. Activities that shift the balance shown in the Lane Scale cause the river to adjust to the changes. Rivers can adjust within normal limits. But some activities are beyond “normal” and cause the river to become less stable. Activities on land within the watershed can alter a river’s channel. Housing

and commercial development is one example. More pavement reduces the YAN

R amount of water that infiltrates into the ground, forcing more of it to run IM

J quickly off land and into the river. Similarly, when woods are clear-cut, The river has over-widened and can no longer effectively carry continued on next page water and sediment.

Degradation Aggradation

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B The bed of the river is lower in the landscape than it was previously. The Sediment deposits in rivers clog a bridge. person shown in the middle of the photo has to scale high banks to reach the land. Older channel deposits are exposed in the bank of the river. Streamside Sentinel Science Page 5 Stable Unstable

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L Even during floods stable streams can carry large amounts of water As banks erode and rivers widen, infrastructure such as this small bridge without significant damage. collapses. Stable River Systems

The Lane Scale s we mentioned earlier, rivers are dynamic systems. Even stable rivers can move up to a few feet per year. The outside bends of a river will migrate slightly down stream and slightly towards the outside of the meander bend. The movement Aoccurs mostly in this area because it is where flow is concentrated; the force of the water pushing against the bend moves the soil particles little by little. The factors responsible for a stable river, interestingly enough, reach beyond the channel. A river is more than just the channel and its contents. It is also the streamside vegetation along the banks of the channel, the flood plain and the entire watershed that contributes water and sediment to the river. Stable rivers share two critical characteristics: healthy streamside vegetation and access to the flood plain. They are as much a part of a healthy river as the channel itself.

This scale, known as the Lane Scale, shows l Access to the Flood Plain – The how rivers are in a dynamic balance. flood plain serves as a pressure The quantity and size of the sediment is release valve during floods. During proportional to the amount of water in the stream and the channel slope. If channel a flood, a river will leave its chan- slope, for instance, is increased by nel, spread out in the flood plain straightening or channelization, streambed and reenter the channel again as degradation will occur. If sediment load is the water level drops. The shallow increased by excessive erosion upstream, water spilling over the flood aggradation will occur. plain does not have much erosive capacity. In a stable channel, after most floods, the channel will look much the same as it did prior to water that once trickled through forest soil the flood, although the vegetation and leaf litter now runs quickly over land may be temporarily flattened, wet and into a river. The river adjusts to these or rearranged. changes, usually by widening or deepening to accommodate the increased flow. These l Riparian Buffers – If rivers are changes are called hydrologic changes. the arteries of our landscape, then Vermont rivers are very sensitive to land streamside plants are the bones. use changes in the river basin. One recent The roots of vegetation along the study by the Vermont Geological Survey channel bind soils in place. Trees concluded that rivers begin to become and shrubs are generally better at unstable with as little as two percent of the stream bank stabilization because basin developed. Rivers actively change their their roots extend deeper than YAN

R shape when development or logging exceeds IM

those of grasses (which generally J eight percent of the basin. As development penetrate less than a foot deep). Even a narrow border of trees along a river can help to keep a increases in Vermont, rivers adjust to these The binding capacity of plant roots stream stable. hydrologic changes, generally by widening. makes stream banks resistant to The Vermont Geological Survey found that the erosive forces of flooding. rivers under these conditions can widen by The importance of streamside vegetation, the river alike. The Natural Resource Conser- as much as two to three times their former also known as riparian buffers, cannot be vation Service has found that most of the width. overemphasized. The aerial photograph on page sediment in the Third Branch of the White Instability in a river can also result from 3 illustrates their benefits over a 60-year period. River appears to be from stream bank erosion changes to the channel itself. Channelization They show in a tributary, Ayers Brook, and from stream and gravel mining are two examples of physi- that the bank erosion downstream of Randolph. A cal changes to the river that stress the system. If rivers are the channel has study for the Vermont Geological Survey of Straightening or channelizing a river will arteries of our remained in three unstable urban streams, Moon Brook in increase the slope because the river has to landscape, then place in Rutland, Stevens Brook in St. Albans and travel a shorter distance to descend the same areas with Potash Brook in Burlington, found that, at amount. As the slope increases, the water and streamside plants healthy most, one-third of each stream possessed an sediment velocity increases and this extra force are the bones riparian adequate riparian buffer. Vermont has thou- causes the river to degrade. Often downstream buffers. In sands of miles of streams without adequate of a straightened stretch of river the sediment contrast the riparian buffers. The results are collapsing that used to be in the bottom of the river is channel has moved up to hundreds of feet in banks, over-widened rivers and property loss. re-deposited and builds up downstream of the the areas lacking riparian buffers. Restoring and protecting riparian buffers is channelized reach. The absence of riparian buffers, leading to probably the single most important thing that widening rivers and increasing sediment loads, can be done in Vermont to restore stability to can have huge consequences to property and river systems. Page 6 Science Streamside Sentinel

Buffers are Better Glossary

o better understand some of the forces unstable rivers have a high width/depth ratio, Bankfull Width – A river forms its channel acting on Vermont’s land and rivers, while the same river in a stable form will have a in response to a storm event that occurs data from state and federal agencies lower width/depth ratio. Every stream type (steep on a fairly regular basis, every year to year was analyzed in close to 300 stream headwater, mid-basin semi-steep stream, shallow and a half. Tchannels. The goal was to see how the presence slow-moving lower basin stream) will have a or absence of riparian buffers affected the shape different range of width-depth ratios. Depth – Depth is measured as the mean of the stream channel. The analysis found that streams with riparian depth from edge to edge of the river at the The results of the analysis are clear: For every buffers have a much lower width/depth ratio than bankfull level. stream type in Vermont, a river without riparian streams without riparian buffers. Streams with Entrenchment – Entrenchment measures buffers is almost half again as wide as a similar riparian buffers of all types were more stable than whether or not a river has access to its stream with riparian buffers. That’s significant streams without riparian buffers. flood plain. A flood plain can be viewed as because wider streams carry environmental, The results are clear. A river without adequate a pressure release valve. (High stress areas riparian buffers is an unstable river system. Federal ecological and economic costs. are at the bottom of the river, and one-third Many factors influence the form of a river: and state agencies, towns and landowners have of the way up the banks.) the size of the drainage basin; the slope of the spent millions of dollars trying to keep rivers from channel; the sand, cobble or rock that constitute doing what rivers do naturally. Rivers are dynamic the sides and bed of the river; and the land uses systems. A stable river will move through the in the watershed. River scientists, fluvial geomor- landscape without causing damage. deepening of the riverbed and the changes in phologists, further classify streams into various Historically, engineers have tried to control the the course of the river are the results of channel types: steep bedrock controlled streams in the river by channelizing it or placing rock rip-rap to instability. Removing the gravel or rip-rapping the upper basin, for example, or shallow, meandering stabilize banks. These actions increase the force of banks will not solve the problem. An important streams in the lower basin. the water and the erosive force on the beds and and relatively simple start for Vermont streams A series of measurements determine the type banks of the river. would be to restore the riparian buffers along of stream. Three measurements – the bankfull An alternative is to learn to work with the river, stream banks. Thousands of miles of rivers in width, the depth and the level of entrenchment rather than trying to control it. What we perceive Vermont lack adequate riparian buffers. From their – were analyzed. The ratio of two of these mea- as the problems, gravel loaded up in rivers, own personal experiences, farmers in Lamoille surements – the bank full width and depth – is collapsing banks, undermined bridges, lost crop- County and the Missisquoi basin, the the width-depth ratio. This number describes a land, lost aquatic habitat are actually the results of Valley and throughout Vermont know that one of relationship that is independent of the actual sizes unstable river systems. the best and cheapest actions they can take to of the rivers. For example, wide and shallow Gravel deposits, the widening of rivers, the protect their land is to maintain a riparian buffer.

The tables below show that streams without vegetation on their banks have higher width/depth ratios than streams with vegetation. A stream with a high width/depth ratio is shallow and wide with eroding banks and poor fish habitat. Conversely, a stream with a lower width/depth ratio is Positive Steps: narrower and deeper, making it stable and hospitable to wildlife. ☛ The Natural Resource Conservation Service is working with farmers along Width/Depth Ratios on Streams With and Without Streamside Vegetation the Mad River to replant and restore Streams with access to flood plain Entrenched streams riparian buffers. Data source With Riparian Buffer Without With Riparian Buffer Without ☛ The City of South Burlington # of # of # of # of established buffer zoning over 25 years x-sections w/d ratio x-sections w/d ratio x-sections w/d ratio x-sections w/d ratio ago to protect its rivers and streams. ☛ Project Impact, Lamoille County 65 27.3 27 40.7 15 27.1 17 25.8 Over 75 percent of the water- shed restoration groups in Vermont are Natural Resource Conservation Service: 3 19.2 6 20.3 working with landowners to plant trees and restore stream banks. White River VGS 3 26.1 9 43.4 2 21.4 ☛ The State of New Hampshire passed Vermont Geological Survey buffer zoning to protect shorelines (VGS) disturbed stream study 15 23.3 7 16.2 and streambanks. Green Mountain National Forest 26 15 3 20.0 17 21 5 26.0 ☛ In Lamoille County, the Natural Resource Agency of Natural Resources Conservation Service provides landown- USGS gages, 6 24.6 1 9.6 1 18.4 2 19.7 ers with planted trees along the streams Total number of sections 119 45 42 24 for a minimal cost of $1 per tree. Average w/d ratio 23.7 36.5 22.3 25.3 ☛ A community planning project out of the Lake Region Union – Data set (279 cross-sections) only includes streams with slopes under 4%. High School is stabilizing banks with – Riparian buffers were defined for this analysis as the presence of woody/shrubby vegetation on both sides of a stream channel. The absence of a riparian buffer was defined as the presence of lawn, field, pasture or crops, or an natural methods and planting trees occasional tree on one or both sides of the channel. and shrubs along the banks. ☛ The Poultney-Mettawee Watershed Partnership is working with farmers to fence cattle away from streams and Width/Depth Ratios on Streams With and Without Streamside Vegetation Divided by Stream Type plant trees and shrubs along streams. ☛ Vermont has more than 35 river Stream Description Rosgen #of Width/Depth #of Width/Depth watershed associations and 86 lake stream sections Ratio with sections Ratio without watershed associations. To get type Riparian Buffer Riparian Buffer involved, get a listing of the watershed Semi-steep (2-4% slopes), fairly straight, associations from the Vermont moderately entrenched. B 106 17.3 9 22.00 Division of Water Quality. Wide, meandering, low gradient, ☛ The Lake Carmi Watershed Committee not entrenched. C 48 27.9 21 41.23 in Franklin and the Lake Parker Narrow, valley bottom, tight meanders, Association in Glover are conducting not entrenched. E 18 15.1 8 10.45* shoreline revegetation projects in Entrenched, wide, meandering, which native plants will be supplied mid-low basin. F 2 22 9 33.69 to shoreland owners for re-establish- Total # sections 174 47 ment of a natural buffer strip. ☛ The Silver Lake Association in Barnard Average Width/Depth Ratio 20.1 30.9 worked with an owner of the largest – Data set (221 cross-sections) includes only streams typed using Rosgen classification system. A & G channels stretch of undeveloped shoreline on all had riparian buffers and were not used. The Rosgen classification system divides streams into seven major the lake to set aside the development stream types, with many sub-types. Dave Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology developed this system. rights of the property to keep it in a *Three streams classified as E>G, or entrenched with very low w/d ratios (<6.6) natural state. Streamside Sentinel Science Page 7 Truckloads of Sediment Enter Trout River

magine the public outcry if someone were to To be sure, streamside vegetation won’t avert all back up a dump truck to the water’s edge those expenses. But dollar-for-dollar, riparian buffers A study by the Vermont in Montgomery and empty a ton of phosphorus are among the most cost-effective way to control into the Trout River. phosphorus. The 6.9 tons of phosphorus that Department of Environmental IConsider the outcry if someone were to do it entered the Trout River from that single storm was a Conservation predicts that seven times. significant percentage of the total amount of phos- targeted reductions of Now consider the major flood that hit Montgom- phorus, about 82 tons, that winds up in the ery in 1998. Surging floodwaters cut channels into Missisquoi basin each year. And over time, the 6.9 phosphorus will cost around riverside land, sending about 8,600 cubic yards of tons of phosphorus from the Trout River flood will $1.1 million per metric ton of earth, encompassing more than an acre and a half of stay in the system, causing damage to lakes and phosphorus per year. farm fields, into the Trout River. That’s about 1,300 ponds farther downstream. dump trucks full of soil and gravel. And bound up River restoration efforts after the flood for this This means that the potential in all that earth were about 6.9 metric tons of mile of the Trout River have cost about $120,000 to cost for removing the phosphorus, a nutrient that causes big problems date. Maintaining riparian buffers would have phosphorus that entered the when it enters rivers and lakes. avoided much of the damage and cost. Well-vegetated riverbanks would have helped to During the flood a farmer lost use of approxi- Trout River is more than stabilize the Trout River and prevent the new mately five acres of land when 8,600 cubic yards of $7 million dollars. channels from being cut. Stable river banks also his land’s soil and sediment went into the river. help ease the tremendous public expense of keep- But Vermonters lost more than land in the flood ing phosphorus out of Vermont’s waters. because the costs of phosphorus reduction are Vermont cities and towns will have spent more ongoing. A study by the Vermont Department of than $25 million on upgrades to wastewater treat- Environmental Conservation predicts that targeted basin has miles and miles of streams, many without ment plants between 1979 and 2001 – all for phos- reductions of phosphorus will cost around $1.1 adequate riparian buffers. phorus reduction. In addition, municipalities and million per metric ton of phosphorus per year. This Mike Kline, river restoration ecologist with the developers spend millions on phosphorus reduction means that the potential cost for removing the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, says, “It’s not through stormwater management. Add to that the phosphorus from the Trout River is more than $7 inconceivable that ten times this amount of phos- dollars spent to control phosphorus on farms in the million dollars. phorus moved out of the length of the Trout River Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog Basins – And this dose of phosphorus was only one small as a result of both the flood and subsequent smaller and the overall cost is significant. portion of what occurred during the 1998 flood; the rainstorms.”

SEDIMENT AND PHOSPHORUS (TP) LOSS FROM NEW CHANNELS IN TROUT RIVER PHOSPHORUS LOADING FROM VERMONT RIVERS 120 Length Width Cross-section area Volume Volume Point Source (ft) (ft) (sq ft) (cubic yards) (cubic meters) Nonpoint Source

) 100 New Channel A 524 ~80 46,826 5,500 4180

YEAR New Channel B 308 ~50 26,289 3,100 2356

/ Total 832 73,115 8,600 6536

TONS 80

Average Volume Total weight weight (cubic (metric tons) of soil meters) Concentration of Total Phosphorus Kg TP /kg soil METRIC (metric ( 60 tons per cubic OAD meter)

L 40 1.5 6536 9804 Topsoil 0.0013* Subsoil 0.0006** Kg soil Kg/TP Total P Total P Total P HOSPHORUS Amount of sediment lost, P 20 channel ~ 3.5 feet deep Kg soil (Kg) (Kg) (metric tons)

OTAL Topsoil, high phosphorus 1,400,571 0.0013 1820.7 1.8 T Subsoil, low phosphorus 8,403,429 0.0006 5042.1 5.0 0 SUM TOTAL PHOSPHORUS LOST 6862.8 6.9

Mill

East

Pike *NRCS/UVM **Unpublished data NRCS/UVM

Rock

Otter

Lewis

Indian

Mallets

Stevens

LaPlatte

Lamoille

Poultney

Winooski The table above explains what happened in the photo below. New Channel A contributed

Missisquoi Little Otter 5,500 cubic yards of sediment to the stream, and New Channel B contributed 3,100

Stone Bridge cubic yards. The combined total of 8,600 yards of sediment that was washed away This graph shows the rivers that are contributing the highest total load contained 6.9 metric tons of total phosphorus. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources of phosphorus in metric tons per year to Lake Champlain. The estimates removal costs for phosphorus at $1.1 million per metric ton. The flood was not and the Winooski and the Missisquoi Rivers contribute the highest loads. only a cost to the farmer who lost land, but to the entire state as well.

PHOSPHORUS LOAD IN VERMONT RIVERS NORMALIZED FOR SIZE OF DRAINAGE AREA 250 Point Source Nonpoint Source 200

KILOMETER

150

SQUARE

PER Original n New Channel B 100 River Channel

KILOGRAMS n New Channel A 50 n

HOSPHORUS Trout River P 0

Mill

East

Pike

Rock

Otter

Lewis

Indian

Mallets

Stevens

LaPlatte

Lamoille Poultney 0 2000’

Winooski

Missisquoi

Little Otter

Stone Bridge

This graph shows the rivers which have the highest concentration of Two new channels were cut by the Trout River downstream of Montgomery Center. This phosphorus in the water. The Rock River and Otter Creek have the resulted in the loss of land to the farmer, over $100,000 in restoration work, and a huge highest concentrations of phosphorus. load of sediment to the river. Much of this loss could have been prevented if trees had been left along the stream channel to help stabilize the river. Page 8 Historical Streamside Sentinel

Wise Words From the Past he importance of natural vegetation to healthy streams is hardly a new discovery. Vermont’s first State Naturalist, Before the country was cleared, the whole Zadock Thompson, wrote about how rivers changed as a “ result of clearing the land. Frank Carleton, Commissioner surface of the ground was deeply covered with Tof Fish and Game in 1900, wrote about the importance of streamside leaves, limbs, and logs, and the channels of all trees for aquatic habitat and improving water quality. the smaller streams were much obstructed by In 1927 and in 1938, Vermont experienced two devastating floods. The damage was great, in part owing to the lack of streamside trees. the same. The consequence was that, when the The Soil Conservation Service experimented along the Winooski River snows dissolved in the spring, or the rains fell with the use of natural vegetation to stabilize river banks. The photo in the summer, the waters were retained among series below shows the success. This bend on the lower Winooski River near Richmond shows an eroding bank in 1938 prior to the the leaves, or retarded by the other obstructions, installation of plants for bank stabilization. In the most recent photo, so as to pass off slowly, and the streams were taken in 1993, mature trees on the same bend have replaced the kept up, nearly uniform as to size during the eroding bank. whole year. But since the country has become settled, and the obstructions, which retarded the water, removed by freshets, when the snows melt or the rains fall, the waters run off from the surface of the ground Eroding bank, Winooski River, June 1938 Osprey quickly, the streams are raised suddenly, run rapidly, and soon subside. In consequence of the water being thus carried off more rapidly, the streams would be smaller than formerly during a considerable part of the year, even though the quantity of water be the same. It is a well known fact that the freshets in Vermont are more sudden and violent than when the country was new.” – Zadock Thompson, Natural History of Vermont, 1853

Bank shaping prior to installing soil bioengineering practices, Winooski River, September 1938 “It is a well known fact that the best fishing is where a forest is near the shore, and best of all where the limbs overhang the water. Not only do the trees afford shelter, furnish food and prevent evaporation, but at the same time they keep the water clear and cool in the summer. In the winter the forests afford protection by lessening the severity of the winter frosts,

and in all forest Three years after installation of soil bioengineering practices, 1941 regions the changes of temperature

are not so severe River Otter ERVICE

S as in treeless countries and on the open plain: and the effect

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upon the water is even greater... But the forests C not only regulate the flow of water, as above

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stated, but they purify the water.” R

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– Frank H. Carleton : N from the Fifteenth Biennial Report of the

HOTOS Commissioners of Fish and Game of the State of P Soil bioengineering system, Winooski River, June 1993 Vermont, 1899-1900. (55 years after installation) Streamside Sentinel Page 9 Money continued from page 1 and 1998, a series of powerful floods resulted in approximately $57 million in public and private losses in Vermont. Floods do much of their financial damage to public infrastructure – roads, culverts and bridges. The actual cost is even higher. The figures do not account for the loss or degradation of natural resources, nor can they put a price on human suffering or, in the worst case, the loss of human life. “Instability creates a major threat not only to infrastructure investments but also to public safety,” says Barry Cahoon, river management engineer with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. “The value is infinite, really.” Rivers are far more complex than the notion of a channel carrying water. In fact, another critical role of a river is

AHOON

to transport sediments that wash into C tributaries from uplands or are carried

ARRY across lowlands during storms. A B healthy river, one with riparian buffers, Vermont has many bridges that have been undermined as rivers have cut into the landscape in response to hydrologic is in a dynamic balance – transporting changes in the watershed and modifications such as gravel mining or straightening of the stream channel. The Federal water and carrying and depositing Highway Administration in 1995 wrote that federal funds are not available for bridges damaged by gravel mining. sediments naturally. A river without a vegetated buffer is most common source of river instability, as well as local conservation districts, ations of the landowner and still be a a river out of balance. And a river out particularly in lowlands, is a lack of offer programs that reduce or eliminate cost-effective means of implementing of balance can be costly. It can dramati- streamside vegetation. costs for restoring riparian buffers on conservation practices.” cally widen its banks, washing away Farmers, trying to maximize the use their land. While costs to farmers are obvious, productive agricultural land. It can cut of their land, sometimes cut riparian The Natural Resource Conservation the benefits of buffers aren’t always so deeply into its channel, undermining zones and plant crops to the river’s District for the Winooski River water- easy to calculate. But here are some bridge footings. And it can lose its edge. But Ryan advises farmers that it shed runs a program, with funding from numbers from studies done in other ability to filter pollutants before they can make more sense to take some of the Environmental Protection Agency, states: can reach water. that streamside cropland out of produc- that pays farmers who agree to replace • Retaining forest area and buffers Riparian buffers alone won’t stop a tion, replacing it with a vegetated crop land with either a wooded buffer has reduced stormwater costs in flood or save a bridge. Any number of buffer. He has a well-practiced lesson or a grass filter strip, which still pro- Fairfax County, VA, by $57 million. factors can undermine the integrity of a for farmers: duces a hay crop. (See page 11 for • Observations made after the 1993 river, including gravel extraction, “You can take out 25 feet of agricul- more information about such programs.) floods in the Midwest showed that straightening a channel or filling a flood tural production now along the river, It recognizes that farmers sometimes where forests were retained in the plain. But streamside vegetation is one and we can stabilize the bank by need compensation when they give up flood plain or where levees had of our most economical and effective planting trees and restoring the riparian productive land to streamside buffers. overgrown with trees, damage to flood-control measures. buffer, which in the long run will “In the Mad River Valley, cropland the levee system and the river “Floods have always occurred and protect more of your land,” he explains. acreage is a limited resource and giving were less than areas only main- always will be outside of human “Or you can grow corn up to the edge up high producing prime agricultural tained in grass or farmland. control. But flood losses occur because and lose 10, 15 feet of land a year. You land to permanent buffers is a serious Although these benefits are of choices we have made,” says do the math. You can set it aside now economic consideration for the farmer,” difficult to put a price on, property Cahoon. “We need to do a better job of or you can lose it to the river later.” says Ellen Sivret, a soil conservationist damage exceeded $50,000 to recognizing where the only economi- To be sure, taking agricultural land with the Natural Resource Conservation $250,000 per mile. cally and ecologically sustainable land out of production can be a major, up- District for the Winooski River water- • Housing values were 32 percent use is a revegetated riparian buffer.” front expense to farmers. It’s simply shed. “Our project is designed to higher when located next to a Jim Ryan, who studies rivers in asking them to take a pay cut. Fortu- demonstrate that a cost share program greenbelt buffer in Boulder, CO. Lamoille County, has found that the nately, state and federal governments, can address the economic consider-

“Left to grow up naturally, riparian buffers are a free investment in stabilizing our rivers and protecting water quality,” – Stephan Syz, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

TOLEROFF

S

EBORAH

D This road washed out during a flood on the Great Brook in Plainfield in 1990. This is an all-too-common event along rivers throughout Vermont. Page 10 Streamside Sentinel

flooding – silver maple and green ash, for surrounding land uses and most Riparian Buffer example. importantly, width. But trees and shrubs are hardly the In general, the wider the buffer continued from page 1 only components of a riparian buffer. the better the buffer. Indeed, the zones bordering a stream or It is the goal of the state of river can host all sorts of wildlife: from Vermont “to protect and restore tiny micro-organisms, insects, amphib- streamside and lakeshore vegetation as ians and reptiles to fish, mammals and part of the state’s long-term surface birds – all thriving with algae, lichens, water quality, recreation, fisheries and fungi, mosses, ferns and, of course, wildlife management programs” flowering plants and trees to form a (Vermont Agency of Natural Resources vibrant community of life. Procedure on Streamside and This growing, breathing, crawling, Lakeshore Vegetation Management, swimming, squiggling, flying, photo- Adopted June 16, 1996). The policy synthesizing and, most importantly, generally: interacting assemblage of life all • discourages the cutting of trees and comes together when water meets other vegetation on streamsides; land at a healthy riparian buffer. • encourages the revegetation of One huge question for policy streamsides with native shrubs, makers and landowners is this: How grasses and trees; wide is a good riparian buffer? • protects streamside buffers by The answer isn’t simple. A green limiting the access of livestock and frog hardly strays from the shoreline. by excluding dumping, filling, But a mink might hunt far from the operation of construction machinery water’s edge. And a buffer’s capability and other disruptive activities; and to stabilize streambanks, filter pollut- • limits encroachments with set-backs Bull Moose ants or prevent flooding depends on for buildings, roads and paved paths its soils, vegetation, topography, to the greatest extent possible. A Healthy River continued from page 1 maintaining the stability of the stream a nutrient that channels. They even strengthen Vermont’s causes algal economy. blooms (explosive In short, streamside shrubs and growth of algae) woodlands keep a river healthy and in which suffocate balance and help protect human fish and harm investments on the landscape. other aquatic life. “The glue that keeps a stream in balance is the riparian zone,” says Provide Shade, Michael Kline, river restoration ecologist Shelter and with the State of Vermont. “We’re hoping Food for Fish that more and more people understand and other that we need to work together to keep Aquatic Life this buffer of vegetation, that it’s in our A bare stream collective best interest from an economic with no shade and natural resources standpoint.” trees on its banks Here are a few examples of what is inhospitable to a little streamside vegetation can do fish and other YAN

R

IM for people, the economy and wildlife. wildlife. J Shade trees in Healthy River and a Riparian Ecosystem Riparian buffers: streamside wood-lands keep the water Provide Economic Benefits Stabilize Stream Banks temperature from climbing too high for policy makers. Simply leaving or cold-water fish such as trout and salmon. Rivers can cost money. They can restoring a riparian buffer is a small, Eroding or collapsing stream banks Insects falling from overhanging stream- collapse bridges, wash out roads, cut simple step with minor costs and huge can gobble up agricultural land and side vegetation are an important summer new channels and take agricultural soil benefits. Streamside vegetation backyards and send sediment into a food source for certain fish species. And and land downstream costing millions is what makes a river a ribbon of life waterway. Sediment harms fish and fallen leaves themselves are a source of of dollars. across our landscape. other wildlife, degrades water quality food for aquatic insects, which are in Riparian buffers are the single most On the road, Charles Kuralt once put and can fill river beds, valuable wetlands turn eaten by fish. Toppled trees or effective way to avoid these costs. it this way: “I started out thinking of or even lakes and reservoirs. leaning branches also provide underwa- Ironically, farmers can lose riverside land America as highways and state lines. In riparian zones, plant stems protect ter cover for fish. when they clear it and use it for growing As I got to know it better, I began to a streambank from the erosive force of crops. A city, town or upland develop- think of it as rivers. Most of what I love flowing water, and plant roots hold soil Provide Critical Wildlife Habitat ment will spend more money on bank about the country is a gift of the rivers. in place so that it doesn’t wash into the A barren streamside is an opportu- stabilization, stormwater control and ... America is a great story, and there is river. nity lost for wildlife, depriving birds, water quality improvements than it a river on every page of it.” mammals, amphibians and reptiles of would by simply leaving or replanting Filter Sediments and Pollutants food and shelter and a safer zone for riparian vegetation. Rip-rap, large stones from Land feeding and drinking. used to stabilize river banks, is expen- Rivers receive harmful pollutants Riparian zones offer food and cover “I started out thinking sive, unsightly and often fails to protect such as sediments and animal wastes to songbirds and game species such as land. Riparian buffers eliminate the need of America as washed from roads, housing subdivi- ruffed grouse and wild turkey. Wooded for some rip-rap. highways and state sions, streets or agricultural land as a buffers also provide food and critical Finally, controlling phosphorus is a lines. As I got to know result of rainstorms. travel corridors for white-tailed deer, huge expense for municipalities and Plants in a riparian buffer slow the black bear, river otter and mink. it better, flow of water rushing over land, taxpayers. Riparian buffers, which are Protect Agricultural Land from natural phosphorus filters, help save the I began to think allowing heavier sediment to settle of it as rivers. before it can reach a river. Riparian Flood Damage public expense of preventing phospho- vegetation and roots stabilize soils, Floods are expensive for farmers. rus from reaching rivers. Most of what I love which can then remove disease-causing They can force a river to jump its Little else can stabilize banks, protect about the country microorganisms, pesticides and other channel and cut a new one into agricul- water quality and agricultural land, is a gift of the rivers. pollutants that can harm people and tural land. maintain cool stream temperatures for wildlife. Riparian zones also help keep A river with trees and shrubs along fish, and benefit belted kingfishers, ... America is a great rivers free of phosphorus – the top of its banks is stable and wood turtles, mink, river otter and so story, and there is a generally doesn’t threaten agricultural many other species, including human river on every land. Plant stems slow down floodwater beings, as cost effectively as maintaining page of it.” and reduce its erosive power, and they or improving riparian buffers. keep stream debris from flowing onto The fate of Vermont’s rivers and all – Charles Kuralt cropland and pastures. Roots hold the life that enjoys them is in the hands stream banks and their soils in place. of landowners, community groups and Streamside Sentinel Page 11 Interested In More Information? Here’s a Resource List

l Fish and Wildlife Department Publications • “The Living Shore: Best Management for Shoreland Vegetation” These Department of Fish and Wildlife publications are – A 17-minute video produced by the University of available by calling (802) 241-3700 Minnesota. An excellent video on the value of plants along and above the shoreline of lakes. • How to Include Fish and Wildlife Resources in Town and Regional Planning. l Funding Sources • A Landowner’s Guide: Wildlife Habitat Management for • Partners for Fish and Wildlife – US Fish and Wildlife Service, Essex, Vermont Woodlands. VT, 802-951-6313. Funds water resource and restoration projects. • Backyard Wildlife Habitat in Vermont. • Conservation Reserve Program – Natural Resource Conservation Service, Berlin, VT, 802-828-4493. Funds trees for streams. l Water Quality Division Publications • Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program–Natural Resource A complete list of documents is available from the Water Conservation Service, Berlin, VT, 802-828-4493. Quality Division, (802) 241-3770. Some of the highlights are: • Lake Champlain Basin Program Local Implementation Grant – • Planning for Lake Water Quality Protection. Lake Champlain Basin Program, 800-468-5227. Watershed groups A Manual for Vermont Communities. Vermont Department of and municipalities have received grants to implement practices Environmental Conservation, August 1990, 113 pages that reduce nonpoint source pollution and pay for the project • Re-establishing a Lakeshore Buffer Strip. 1992, 4 pages coordinator’s time. • Native Vegetation for Lakeshores, Streamsides and Wetland • Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Project Proposals – Buffers. 1994, 43 pages Vermont Department of Environmental Protection, Water Quality Division, Waterbury, VT, 802-241-3770. Five types of projects are • Streambank and Lakeshore Vegetation Management Procedure. funded: watershed resource restoration, technical and financial June 1996 assistance, monitoring, demonstration and enforcement projects. • Local Planning and Zoning Options for Water Quality • Conservation License Plate Watershed Projects – Vermont Protection. September 1997, 28 pages Department of Environmental Protection, Water Quality Division, • Buffer Strips for Riparian Zone Management. January 1991, Waterbury, 802-241-3770. Funds water resource and restoration US Army Corps of Engineers for the Water Quality Division projects. • Local Planning and Zoning Options for Wetland Protection. • Partnership Program – Connecticut River Joint Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Water Commissions, 603-826-4800. Funds small projects that are Quality Division. 1997 innovative and community-generated and address conservation • Sources of Native Plant Materials in Vermont. May 1999, 13 pages and economic challenges. • Recreation Path and Trail Planning to Protect and Enhance • Vermont Better Backroads Small Grants Program – Northern Lakes and Rivers: Values and Considerations for Water Quality and Vermont Resource Conservation and Development Council, Aquatic Habitat. October 1994, 9 pages Berlin, VT, 802-828-4595. Funds town or private road projects • Act 137. Recommendations for Flood Control Policies and Program. to repair erosion site or identify and rank problem sites. Febuary 1999 • The Sustainable Future Fund – The Vermont Community • Geomorphic Impacts of In-Stream Management Practices. Vermont Foundation, 802-388-3355. The foundation supports projects Geological Survey, 1999 that help people and communities think creatively about challenges of building a sustainable society. l Videos These are available from the Vermont Agency of Natural l Watershed Associations Resources Water Quality Division at (802) 241-3770: For a list of watershed • “When Rivers Become Unstable: How Streambank Woodlands associations near you contact: Can Help Protect Land” Vermont Agency of Natural Resources • “Unstable Rivers: Using a Geomorphic Watershed Based Approach Division of Water Quality to Restoration” 103 South Main Street Building 10 North, 2nd Floor • “Riparian Forest Buffers: The Link Between Land and Water” Waterbury, VT 05671-0408. – A 21-minute video describing riparian buffer functions and Phone: (802) 241-3770. values. Common Loon

by Barry Cahoon would be Sleepers River, Miller Run, Moose A Watershed River Management Engineer River or Calendar Brook. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Our neighborhoods would be defined as Perspective the natural systems define them. Wouldn’t ’ve always wondered how people’s we think much more carefully, sensitively on Community I attitudes and perceptions about their and compassionately about our personal place in the environment might be actions and how they ultimately affect different if, instead of living in political the natural systems upon which we, our and Protection jurisdictions with artificial boundaries neighbors and the vitality of our (towns and counties) drawn by land communities depend? of Social and speculators in the 1700s who had There need not necessarily be regulatory never set foot in Vermont, we lived in approaches to guiding watershed land use Economic communities defined by watershed and development patterns in order to boundaries. reduce future flood losses. Rather, public Well Being Instead of Caledonia or Essex counties education and implementation of a we would live in Passumpsic or Upper comprehensive system of community Connecticut County. Our communities incentives can accomplish a lot over time. Page 12 Streamside Sentinel A Simple Solution ......

n As we travel through Vermont the same scenes occur again and again. Eroding river banks are a common sight along rivers without streamside trees,

ERVICE

S shrubs, and other natural vegetation.

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C

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R

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N

ERVICE l In contrast, a stable river S with well-vegetated banks can

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contain flood waters without C

any major damage. ESOURCE

R

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farmers will be paid to sign 15-year agreements to Farm Programs Help Vermont Waterways develop perennial buffers along cropland and forested buffers along pastureland. Over the 15- he State of Vermont created the Best As a direct result of the BMP program, phosphorus year period, farmers will receive compensation for Management Practice Cost Share Program loading to water courses statewide has been reduced the lost crop value of these lands for agreeing not in 1996 to provide financial assistance to by nearly 32,000 pounds. Of that total, an estimated to plant in these areas. farmers for voluntary construction of 24,000 pounds of phosphorus has been eliminated in If the Vermont Legislature concurs, the Depart- on-farmT improvements designed to control nonpoint the Lake Champlain Basin, enabling agriculture to meet ment of Agriculture and the Farm Service Agency in source agricultural waste discharges into the state’s the phosphorus reduction targets required by the Lake July 2001 will enter into contracts with farmers for waterways. Champlain Basin Plan. 750 acres of pastureland and 250 acres of cropland. Since the program’s inception, $2.7 million has The state-funded grants have made BMP construc- The total cost of the program will be just under been committed to build 737 BMPs. In fiscal 2000, tion possible for many farmers who would have $2.1 million over the 15-year period, with the state 74 grants totaling just under $750,000 were awarded otherwise not been able to afford the improvements. contributing $640,000 of that total. Based on the across the state. Funding increased to $1.2 million By adhering to BMPs, farmers are able to more cost level of success in the Lake Champlain Basin, the in fiscal 2001. effectively use nutrients, handle agricultural wastes, and state will launch CREP programs in the Lake In addition to the traditional waste management comply with state and federal water quality regulations. Memphremagog and Connecticut River Basins structures, the program has funded construction of 2 The Agriculture Department’s BMP Cost Share Program beginning in 2003. stone-lined waterways, 16 livestock exclusion projects has gained widespread support from the agricultural Those interested in the BMP program should to reduce animal access to streams, 5 stream bank and and environmental communities. contact Jeff Cook shoreline stabilization projects and 1 grassed water- The Agriculture Department in conjunction with at the Vermont way. The program has also helped to fund the devel- federal Farm Service Agency is also developing a Department of opment of alternative water sources that further help Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Agriculture, to divert farm animals away from the state’s streams. for the Champlain Basin. Under the CREP funding plan, (802) 828-3474.

The Vermont Agency of Most folks have never heard of “riparian buffers,” but they are some of the most valuable real estate in Vermont. Natural Resources Presents Here’s a new video (getting rave reviews from Vermonters) about the values of streamside shrubs and woodlands, “When Rivers often called riparian buffers. The video is designed for landowners, town officials, Become Unstable: watershed groups or any citizen interested in river quality and land conservation. It illustrates how streamside When Rivers How Streambank vegetation can stabilize river banks, protect fisheries and Become property, reduce flood damage and phosphorus loading, and improve water quality. Unstable: How Woodlands Can Streambank But there’s more: Woodlands Can Help Protect A second video shows how to protect property by Help Protect working with the river using a Natural Channel Design Land Land” approach. It’s called “Unstable Rivers: Using a Geomorphic Watershed Based Approach to Restoration.” “Wet and Wild!” To get your copy of these two videos, call or write: – Scott Johnstone, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources “A Real Fish Story!” The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Division of Water Quality – Ron Regan, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department 103 South Main Street, Building 10 North “Two Thumbs Up!” Waterbury, VT 05671-0408 – A Vermont Landowner and a Vermont taxpayer (802) 241-3770