Stream Care Guide:

Management Tips for Streamside Property Owners

Streamside Vegetation

Leave streamside vegetation intact.

A variety of native plants along a stream create good riparian habitat. Riparian-type plants found along our streams are big leaf maple, white alder, willow, cottonwood, several conifers, California black walnut, elderberry, blackberry, and California wild rose.

Should you have the opportunity to plant along your stream, these and other native species are good choices (see information in box below). Several native plant species can be found at local nurseries. (Check with your local UC Master Gardeners for native plant sources.) Healthy plants can often be salvaged from construction sites (with the owner's permission).

With the many values of natural riparian vegetation in mind, avoid "improving" your creekside area by mowing, clearing, or stripping vegetation unnecessarily; an undamaged streamside and riparian vegetation can be lost in a single summer afternoon. This also applies to removal of living or dead vegetation from the stream channel itself; it usually hurts rather than helps fish and wildlife.

A healthy streambank needs undisturbed soil and vegetation; streamside trees, vines, shrubs, grasses, and tules are essential parts of stream ecology. A well thought-out conservation plan can overcome the fuel continuity ladder (keeping the fire on the ground with low heat and low flames) by reducing overabundant fuels and replacing exotic plants with native plants. Proper planning can mimic natural fire effects and encompass the Three R's (Remove dead fuels, Reduce vegetation, and Rehabilitate your healthy forest area), including spacing and limbing.

(Click image for larger view.)

Riparian (which can be different from streamside) plants not only provide critical wildlife habitat, they also directly affect living conditions in the stream itself. Streamside plants provide shade, lower water temperature, and create hiding cover for fish and other organisms. Leaves and insects dropping from nearby trees and bushes supply food for many stream dwellers, while plant roots stabilize the bank, preventing erosion.

A healthy riparian corridor can also act as a sediment and nutrient screen, filtering silt from adjacent property and absorbing some nutrients released by septic systems. To be an effective screen, however, this zone of vegetation must be sufficiently wide, and the shrubs, vines, and grasses of the understory — not just the trees — must be present.

In times of flooding, a naturally vegetated streambank is your property's best protection. The existing riparian plants growing there are uniquely adapted to surviving flood conditions, providing erosion protection at high flows and recovering quickly when flood waters subside.

If streamside vegetation must be disturbed, replace it quickly, preferably with native species. Remember the removal of vegetation almost always hurts rather than helps fish and wildlife. In cases of severe flooding or erosion problems which threaten property, material may be carefully removed from the channel. When in doubt, please seek advice from trained professionals.

The illustrations below show how water is distributed in a natural versus developed watershed.

The fate of water in a natural watershed as it runs through your stream. (Click image for larger view.)

Developed watersheds in a sense, dewater your watershed, reducing groundwater recharge and heightening water flows. (Click image for larger view.)

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