Transcript
Introduction
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water it's the element that ties the
Watershed together that links the
Estuary to the river that feeds
it and the river to the Upland streams
on these hillsides water collection
starts and Watershed Health
begins a healthy Watershed depends on
its Uplands and network of streams but
it's the reparan area the zone between
the stream and the Uplands where water
meets soil that plays a pivotal role in
the overall health of our watersheds
it's a fact that commercial fisherman
and land owner John Wilson
understands the repairing area is a
sensitive
area uh it's an area that's easily
impacted by other land uses a highly
productive area a very important area
for fish and and the aquatic
ecosystem this is an area that's worth
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Riparian Function
protecting reparan refers to the strip
of moist soil and plants bordering a
body of
water it may be only a foot or so wide
along a small Creek with a steep
bank or hundreds of feet wide along a
lan
Waterway but these days land managers
look at the entire reparan Management
Area the transition zone between Water's
Edge and the
Uplands in a healthy reparan area you'll
find abundant and diverse plant
life
in Oregon's coastal range for example a
well functioning raran area features a
mix of trees large conifers like Douglas
fur Cedar and
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Spruce deciduous
trees Alders
Ash and
Willows and below the Treetops ferns
shrubs and grasses cover the moist
stream
banks in Peak condition the reparan area
is a very busy part of the
Watershed it provides food and cover for
fish and
wildlife it's a storehouse of organic
material that feeds all kinds of
creatures nutrient for
insects that are food for
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birds and
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fish the reparan areas are a breeding
habitat for Birds too scientists say
they found as many as 550 breeding pears
per 100 acres its Shady canopy controls
sunlight a factor affecting stream
temperature the same plants bolster Bank
stability and control
erosion likewise in the flood plane the
assorted vegetation holds sediment water
and organic material and it filters
runoff often the reparan area supplies
the large wood that falls into the
stream creating ideal fish
habitat pools
cover and it traps
gravel
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for spawning
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beds wood adds stability to the channel
and structure it also holds organic
material so essential to the food
process that's the classic reparan
function but Landscapes change reparan
areas are no exception mudslides and
natural flooding impact the areas but so
do human activity
development in roads along waterways
Recreation mining agriculture grazing
and logging can affect the reparan
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function John Wilson who lives above
Cedar Fork Creek on Oregon south coast
knows that since we took the Sheep off
of the place uh this area has grown back
you can see we've planted fur trees out
there all along here some nice nice
little Redwoods coming in along
here this Redwood is actually
functioning to hold the bank right now
he's fenced his section of Creek and
planted trees in hopes of someday
returning the stretch of reparan area
into better fish and wildlife habitat a
new Beaver Dam shows that's already
happening we've got uh of course
raccoons and beavers and
Otter and fish are making themselves at
home too this uh winter uh the shinook
salmon run was real good in in cedar
Fort
Improving Riparian Function
Creek steep Uplands and narrow flood
Plaines are typical of coastal reparan
areas but east of the Cascades and the
high desert country of Central Oregon
the geography and vegetation changes
from trees to grasses and
shrubs here the key reparan function is
preserving water quality and quantity
and the grass kind of helps to hold the
soil and and the litter from the grass
also uh reduces the
erosion and uh people that studyed this
have told me that the grass kind of acts
like a sort of a a sponging
effect as we uh walk through here we can
feel uh kind of the softness underfoot
of this riparian area what that softness
is
is uh grass and sge and bull rush and of
course a few
Forbes um and under that is a very very
dense uh root
mass that mass that we're walking on uh
functions as a
sponge which during the during the
higher flow periods of of Beck actually
absorbs um water from the stream which
of course comes from the Uplands and
then as the year progresses it slowly
uh and gently releases water back into
the system uh and that kind of a
function at least in in uh in this
Corridor has has greatly helped increase
the time period and the quantity of
water that flows in this uh cek during
the critical late summer early fall
period it takes time and energy to
improve or restore repair an area but
things can be done to help proper
livestock management is beneficial to
repair in areas for example Rancher dick
Nelson keeps cattle out of this area
during the growing season and brings
them in early in the spring this
approach protects the grasses and saves
him money on feed sure it saved me money
I wouldn't do it if it didn't I don't do
these for just simply altruistic reasons
it's got to work economically for me or
I won't do it and uh and and it
does likewise Rancher rinda mccor and
her family are using fences to improve
water capture and release along this
stream and they've planted Willows to
improve Bank stability and enhance
wildlife
habitat in Western Oregon land owners
are also planting trees to speed up the
natural
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process the perfect Willow stick is uh
straight and uh approximately want them
to 2 to 3 ft long and the straighter
they are the better they pound into the
ground Willow cuttings can be planted
almost any time by simply driving them
Deep In The Stream
bank or sometimes a power auger is used
to break up compacted soils for easier
planting the whole idea is to create a
mix of appropriate trees in the raran
area diversity is the watch word in
raran
restoration sometimes it means
reestablishing reparan vegetation where
it's been taken out for example along
waterways and pasture
land and other times it means adding
different species to create the
necessary diversity in a reparan
area Planters use hoads during the
winter months to set Conifer seedlings
among the hardwoods someday these starts
will be the large wood for stream
structure in
habitat while the conifers will take
years to grow the fast growing Willows
shrubs and grasses go to work almost
immediately shading the water
contributing food for insects that fish
feed
on cover for wildlife and stabilizing
the banks and controlling
erosion sometimes diversity is created
by removing competing brush like
blackberries and overabundant species
like Alder The Unwanted trees can be cut
down to create a better balance of hard
and soft
wood in this case making room for larger
and longer lasting conifers that will
provide large wood in the future repair
and Improvement and restoration are
long-term Investments Investments that
need protecting removing competing
vegetation like blackberries and grasses
provides more sunlight and water for
young
trees Tre tree protectors limit deer
browsing in building fences and
providing off-stream water protects the
young plants from livestock fences give
the entire raran area with its diverse
plant life a chance for your work to
take hold to mature and begin returning
benefits to the
Watershed in the form of erosion control
stream nutrients fish and wildlife
habitat and clean
water and once that happens we're one
step closer to improving our water
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sheds
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Whether it's along a coastal or a desert stream, the riparian area plays a pivotal role in the health of our watersheds. In "Life on the Edge", viewers discover what that means.
Catalog - EM 9037
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension:
Fish and aquatic life, Riparian areas
