Headwaters Stewardship - Riparian Network
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November 28, 2007 05:00 PM
[#1]
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Texas Outdoors
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“As important as the creeks and rivers of Nueces basin headwaters region are for recreation and wildlife they are not the “main thing”. The “main thing” is not the values that we commonly appreciate; water so clear you can see your toes, swift sparkling rapids and deep green holes, a fighting Guadalupe bass or a riverene view at sunset, but the physical functions that produce those values, ” according to Sky Lewey, Resource Protection and Education Director for the Nueces River Authority. “Healthy riparian areas contribute greatly to these values but they are under appreciated and their function not widely understood. The riparian area is the vegetative margin between a stream and its uplands. Once degraded, riparian function, the production of those values we easily appreciate, can become impaired,” Lewey continued,
Characteristics of Degraded Riparian Areas include – • reduced perennial or seasonal flow with increased peak flood flows • shallow-rooted vegetation with relatively low productivity, lacking woody species • lack of shade or over hanging vegetation • excessive erosion, stream bank collapse and excessive down cutting • a wide stream channel with shallow, perhaps less than clear water • exposed soil on bank or flood plain • an invasion of non-native plants or upland species replacing native riparian vegetation in dominance Learning to read the functioning condition of riparian areas and identify land anagement strategies to preserve and improve that function will be the focus of a newly created initiative announced this week by the Nueces River Authority. The new initiative is an offshoot of the authority’s Headwaters Stewardship Project which began in 2004. The “Headwaters Riparian Network,” will bring riparian management information and expertise to river and creek-side landowners, land managers and other decision makers. The project has received funding from the Dixon Water Foundation and will be implemented in cooperation with interested soil and water conservation districts and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices in the Nueces basin headwaters. Over the next two and half years the river authority plans to bring the NRCS’s interagency National Riparian Service Team and other noted riparian resource professionals to our area for workshops, field days and a series of on-the-ground landowner assistance visits. “We hope to create an information network for landowners who want to enhance the water quality function and wildlife benefits of the riparian areas on their lands. Riparian lands in the Nueces headwaters are almost entirely privately owned. Many of the owners are new to the area and/or new to land ownership and may not be aware of the function and importance of riparian resources in the semi-arid desert. This project will build awareness and understanding about how our headwater rivers and streams work, how healthy riparian areas function and how they can help mitigate erosion and gravel migration, maintain water quality and enhance wildlife habitat,” Lewey said. For more information or to be placed on the information mailing list contact Ms. Lewey at the Nueces River Authority by email slewey@nueces-ra.org or by phone at 830-278-6810.
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