RIPARIAN BUFFERS RIPARIAN BUFFERS CONSERVATION NOTES HOW DO THEY WORK? WILDLIFE RIPARIAN BUFFERS The , shrubs, and grasses in riparian Many people are aware of the value of our large buffers each play an important role protecting for their scenic beauty, their recreational our beautiful rivers and and the living opportunities, and their wildlife habitat. creatures that rely on them. However, our year-round and smaller streams that run only part of the year are also valuable The deeper roots of trees and shrubs hold the for fish and wildlife. Riparian buffers provide soil and stabilize the banks. This: vital habitat along both large rivers and smaller streams. Trees growing along the water’s • reduces soil and sedimentation in edge shade and cool the water, improving high water events, improving fish habitat. Streamside riparian areas contain • reduces flood damage, as the water level a rich mixture of plants and animals, provide rises the slows the water’s shelter and food for insects and fish, which PHOTO: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE velocity in turn provide food for mammals and . Many familiar mammals inhabit the wooded The grasses and leaf litter slow the velocity of land adjacent to rivers and streams. Riparian water entering the . This: buffers also provide protective travel corridors WHAT IS A RIPARIAN BUFFER? • reduces flooding, more water is absorbed for animals moving from drier upland areas to into the soil richer riverside bottomlands. A riparian buffer is an area • removes and , RIPARIAN MAMMALS: of trees, shrubs and grasses improving water quality • Mink • Raccoon • Black bear • Deer along rivers and streams. Riparian buffer vegetation provides critical • Beaver • otter It protects water quality, habitat for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. See • Muskrat back for more information. reduces property loss, and preserves wildlife habitat. To protect our waterways, the Town of Hartford has RIPARIAN BUFFER WEBSITES: established riparian buffer The Connecticut River Joint Commissions: zones of 25 feet for our streams www.crjc.org/riparianbuffers.htm and 100 feet for our rivers.

Vermont Community Wildlife Program: A PDF of this brochure can be downloaded www.vtfishandwildlife.com/cwp_elem_ from the following site: HARTFORD comm_rh.cfm http://www.hartford-vt.org/content/ CONSERVATION conservation/ COMMISSION THINGS WE CAN DO TO PROTECT WIDER RIPARIAN BUFFERS PROVIDE… OUR RIVERS AND STREAMS:

• Leave existing riparian vegetation in place • Create/enhance riparian buffers by planting native trees and shrubs • Keep livestock fenced out of waterways and away from the riparian buffer • Keep piles of manure, salt, soil, and fertilizers away from the riparian buffer • Avoid using heavy equipment in the riparian buffer

…BENEFITS FOR ALL Benefits: Things To Avoid:

• Natural shoreline • Bare shoreline provides wildlife increases runoff habitat and erosion • Narrow footpath • Paved paths to water cause less increase runoff chance of erosion pollution • Low maintenance • Removal of native plants natural vegetation provide riparian eliminates pollution buffer filter and shade • Trees keep the water • Permanent docks cool with view alter natural water maintained flow and cause erosion elsewhere • No docks allow natural water flow Modified with permission, Livingbywater.com