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Introducing: My Healthy Stream

Introducing: My Healthy Stream. A Handbook for Streamside Owners. Streams are the ‘life blood’ of the land, carrying the water that all life depends on. Healthy streams require good stewards. My Healthy Streams provides basic principles and practices towards good stewardship.

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Introducing: My Healthy Stream

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  1. Introducing:My HealthyStream A Handbook for Streamside Owners

  2. Streams are the ‘life blood’ of the land, carrying the water that all life depends on Healthy streams require good stewards My Healthy Streamsprovides basic principles and practices towards good stewardship 2nd expanded edition includes new chapter on Urban Stream Rehabilitation Joint project of: Trout Unlimited and the Aldo Leopold Foundation Authors: Jack E. Williams • Michael P. Dombeck • Christopher A. Wood Editing and Design: Jeannine Richards

  3. C What is a Healthy Stream? Why do we need healthy streams? Fish and wildlife Make our property more livable Recreation A place to play Clean water

  4. What does a healthy stream look like? Floodplains Meandering channels Habitat diversity Riparian areas Logs Pools Undercut banks Clean flowing water Boulders

  5. Many streams need our help In 2004, 44% of U.S. streams were not clean enough for fishing or swimming.

  6. What is a watershed? An area bounded by mountains or hills where surface water from rains or melting snow converges into a single point.

  7. A Watershed has a job… Job performance factors • Soil • Terrain steepness • Wetlands • Vegetation typesand density • Land use Receive, store, release water

  8. The 3 W’s – Water Quality, Wetlands, & Wildlife • Water Quality - Two Sources of Pollution • Non-Point Source occurs as water flows over land picking up silt, nutrients, and pollutants. • Point Source is easier to identify as a specific point (e.g. pipe or irrigation canal). • Wetlandsor riparian areas filter out the pollutants before they enter the stream. • Wildlifeand fish depend on healthy streams to create migration corridors and connect riparian areas.

  9. Map shows the native range of trout –but there are many introductions beyond these areas

  10. Trout Habitat Requirements • Cold Water • Clean Water • Dissolved Oxygen • Food • Holding Habitat • Spawning Habitat

  11. Small streams in good condition can be fun! Thick overhanging vegetation keeps the water cool for trout

  12. What can monitoring tell you? • What condition your stream is in and whether it is improving or degrading over time; • Water quality problems and their sources; • What kind of restoration work is most needed; and • How effective management changes are in achieving the desired condition

  13. Indicators of a Healthy Stream Width-to-depth ratio < 10 Habitat Complexity Streambank Vegetation Mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies

  14. Benefits of Long Term Monitoring • Baseline conditions • Seasonal variability • Annual variability • Management effectiveness • Impacts from floods and droughts Careful observation, repetition, and accurate recording are critical

  15. 4 Steps to Habitat Mapping 2. Measure Stream Channel Maximum depth of larger poolsTransectsChannel widths • Conduct Visual Assessment Bank erosionBank undercutsIn-stream boulders/large woodAquatic vegetation 3. Quantify Habitat Types Pools RapidsRuns WaterfallsRiffles 4. Classify Substrates (streambed material) Clay CobbleSilt BoulderSand BedrockGravel

  16. Water Quality Monitoring • Pollutants • Macroinvertebrates • Temperature • Sediment

  17. Monitoring Macroinvertebrates Macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones. • Aquatic insects • Snails • Clams • Worms • Crayfish

  18. Aquatic Insects • Feed on algae, bacteria, leaves and a variety of decomposing organic matter • Primary food for wide variety of fish • Often swarm upstream reversing nutrient loss caused by downstream flow • Different species vary in sensitivity to pollutants, which indicates health of streams Stoneflies Caddisflies Mayflies

  19. Collecting Macroinvertebrates What you will need: • Kick-nets • D-frame nets • Plastic tub • Ice cube trays • Tweezers

  20. The EPT Index: their presence indicates good conditions • Example: • After sampling all habitats you have found: • 4 kinds of mayflies • 3 kinds of caddisflies • + 2 kinds of stoneflies • EPT is 9 and equates to Fair E – Ephemeroptera (mayflies) P – Plecoptera (stoneflies) T – Trichoptera (caddisflies) • Separate and count the different kinds of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies from all of the habitats. • Adding the three numbers = EPT

  21. Riparian Habitats Why is riparian habitat important? What is riparian habitat? • The strip of land adjacent to streams • Usually wetter and contains more lush vegetation • Supports a large variety of wildlife • Protects streams by filtering harmful sediment and pollutants • Prevents erosion • Shades streams during hot days

  22. How wide should riparian zones be?

  23. Riparian Restoration Benefits • Trees provide shade and woody material for streams • Stream channels become narrower and deeper • Summer stream temperatures are cooler • Vegetation protects streambanks from erosion • Vegetation filters out sediment and other pollutants before they reach the stream

  24. Successful Restoration Techniques Include: • Fence the riparian area • Increase the width of the riparian buffer using native plants • Narrow the channel to increase flow • Willow weaving • Instream fish habitat • Culvert replacements • Irrigation canal screening • Create shallow wetlands

  25. Making Stream Restoration a SUCCESS! • Address the core problems • If root causes are out of your control, treat symptoms until the causes can be addressed • Work with the stream to heal itself • Add unrestrained large wood and boulders • Do not rely on fixed artificial structures • Monitor the results and be adaptive to future needs

  26. Urban Streams: conditions and problems Resulting Problems Common Conditions • Habitat quality declines and erosion increases • Accelerated and flashy runoff • Lacking shade to cool water and fish habitat • No natural filtration • Polluted streams struggle to support aquatic life • Depleted stream flows • Deepened and straightened stream channels • Impervious surfaces • Non-existent native streamside plants • Filled wetlands • Accelerated runoff from streets and lawns • Overwatering of lawns

  27. Taking Steps to Improve Urban Streams • Reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides • Manage stormwater runoff • Restore streamside vegetation • Support local stream rehabilitation efforts

  28. Invasive Species • Without natural predators and competition non-natives rapidly populate and crowd out native species • Introduction of diseases and parasites are damaging to native species Reed Canary Grass Purple Loosestrife American Bullfrog (problem in West) Chinese Mystery Snails

  29. The story of the New Zealand mud snail • First found at aquaculture facilities along the Snake River, Idaho, in 1987 • By 1995 they had spread to the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park • Now found in at least 12 states • Can reach densities of 300,000 per square yard! • Eliminates beneficial insects such as mayflies

  30. Stopping the Spread of Invasive Species • Clean and dry waders and boots • Remove clumps of mud • Avoid felt soles • Remove and dispose of invasive plants

  31. How is climate change affecting streams? • Increasing stream temperatures • Causing earlier snowmelt and earlier peak flows • Increasing the frequency and intensity of severe weather, floods and droughts

  32. Combating climate change by increasing stream resiliency • Reconnect streams to their floodplains • Increase size of riparian zone • Restore degraded wetlands • Increase density and types of vegetation • Reduce stormwater runoff • Insure that culverts and bridges are of adequate size to allow floods • Keep culverts functional by using trash racks and other means Resiliency: the ability of a system to recover following disturbance

  33. Stream Health Requires Planning • Long term vision for function and physical appearance • Be sure to include five to ten year achievable goals • Remember - a healthy stream is not neat and straight but complex • Put it in writing – create a stream management journal • Monitor and record existing conditions with drawings, maps, photos, stream habitat mapping • Develop a plan of action based upon goals

  34. How to Make a Difference My Healthy Stream has an additional resources section in chapter 12 that provides further information and additional references. Obtain copies by contacting:Jack Williams jwilliams@tu.orgSabrina Beus sbeus@tu.org

  35. Ways to Support Healthy Streams • Join and learn about land stewardship and conservation • Join groups involved in restoration projects and volunteer your time and resources with your local chapter • Join groups engaged in environmental education • Spend more time out enjoying local streams

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