• reservoir

    Drinking Water

    Vegetation along streams (riparian buffers) helps protect both the quality and quantity of our drinking water.

  • flooding

    Flood Protection

    Riparian buffers reduce the frequency and intensity of flooding, providing protection for property and infrastructure.

  • paddling_crop_CBP

    Recreation

    Healthy streams allow us to enjoy water-based recreational activities, such as swimming, fishing, and boating, as well as the scenic beauty of our waterways.

  • Biodiversity

    Economy

    Buffers provide economic benefits by mitigating flood damage, improving the scenic quality of our waterways for recreation and tourism, protecting loss of personal property, and minimizing stormwater treatment and drinking water filtration costs.

  • Paddling

    Public Health

    Healthy streams and riparian corridors impact public health by protecting the quality and quantity of our drinking water, improving air quality, and providing us with opportunities to recreate and exercise.

  • Biodiversity

    Wildlife Habitat

    Healthy streams and riparian corridors provide critical habitat and connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic life to thrive and move across the landscape.

  • Biodiversity

    Climate Resilience

    Riparian buffers play an important role in climate change adaptation, by storing carbon in vegetation and soils, reducing fluctuations in water temperature, and minimizing erosion in flood events.

There is a strong connection between land use practices and stream health.  

A watershed is an area of land where all water flows downhill into a common waterway.  More vegetation and fewer impervious surfaces within a watershed can positively impact stream health by filtering stormwater, minimizing erosion, and preventing pollutants from entering our waterways.  Co-benefits for the natural environment include better wildlife habitat and air quality, and increased carbon storage to help mitigate climate change. 

For these reasons, the health of a watershed and its streams is directly related to land use practices.  Because forests are particularly effective at providing these services, maintaining forest cover on the landscape and implementing best management practices -- such as maintaining forested riparian buffers-- can have a big impact on stream health. 

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