Natural Areas - Riparian Buffer Initiative

Please visit the link elow to view the associated pictures
along with their interactive website.

About the Huron River WatershedNatural Areas - Riparian Buffer Initiative

http://www.hrwc.org/text/buffer.htm

NEW 8/07! - link to HRWC Riparian Buffer Model Ordinance pdf file is 228 kb - link to Riparian Forest Buffer (Appendix C) pdf file is 453 kb - images of local examples of working riparian buffers can be found using links under the Educating Riparian Landowners on this webpage.
Why are riparian buffers important to stream health?
If the Huron River and its tributaries could talk, one of the first things they might say to us is "Hey, can we get a little privacy here, please?" One of life’s bare necessities is clothing and shelter to keep us safe, healthy, and protected from the elements. For a stream or river, the vegetated zones along its banks, known as riparian buffers, are the equivalent of the walls of our houses or the clothes on our backs.
PHOTO AT LEFT: Multiple rows of trees and shrubs, as well as a native grass strip, combine in this nationally recognized demonstration buffer area on Bear Creek in Story County, Iowa. photo: USDA NRCS
A riparian buffer zone is a strip of undisturbed native vegetation, either original or reestablished, bordering a stream or river, or wetland. The trees, shrubs and plants, and grasses in the buffer provide a natural and gradual transition from terrestrial to aquatic environments. These areas are critical for wildlife habitat, storing water during periods of high water flow, and protecting lakes and rivers from physical and chemical pollutants. A buffer is most effective when stormwater flows into and through it as a shallow sheet, rather than through concentrated channels or gullies. More information about the benefits of buffered streams can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
Yet, much of the Huron’s stream and river corridors have been stripped of natural vegetation, and natural shorelines and stream banks have been replaced with turfgrass, seawalls, concrete rubble, boulders, or other artificial barriers that sever the critical connection between land and water. The eventual result is bank erosion and a straight path for pollutants to flow directly into our waterways.
PHOTO AT RIGHT: Streams whithout buffers, such as this stretch of Letts Creek in Veterans Park in Chelsea, run higher risks of streambank erosion, pollution, and sedimentation, and offer no wildlife habitat. photo: HRWC
In fact, removing buffer vegetation fundamentally changes the way a stream flows. A riparian buffer acts as a sponge, soaking up runoff from rainstorms and slowly releasing it to the stream. Removing or altering riparian buffers allows runoff to rush quickly and directly into streams during rainstorms, which can dramatically harm a stream’s ecological and physical health.
Establishing buffers that protect the remaining riparian corridors, especially floodplains, wetlands, and steep slopes, is critical to protecting the aquatic system against increasing development pressures throughout the watershed and maintaining the Huron River’s physical, biological, and chemical integrity.
PHOTO BELOW: Schueler identified three zones in a riparian buffer. Each zone can be managed to accomplish different functions and objectives. figure: Center for Watershed Protection

What are the goals of the Initiative?
In an effort to prevent further degradation of natural buffer zones, HRWC is planting the seeds for a watershed-wide stream buffer education and policy initiative. The two goals of this two-year project funded through a federal Clean Water Act grant administered by MDEQ are:
Work with five local communities in the Huron River Watershed to adopt and implement buffer ordinances that establish criteria for the preservation and protection of lands adjacent to the Huron River and its tributaries
Educate river- and stream-front landowners on the importance of vegetated buffers in reducing pollution to local waterways and engage them in stewardship activities, including development of multiple demonstration sites that illustrate good riparian buffer management practices A model ordinance
With the help of an advisory committee, HRWC first will develop a model riparian buffer ordinance, which we will share with local government partners interested in pursuing passage of a buffer ordinance. HRWC then will provide technical assistance and support these partner communities in drafting and passing buffer ordinance language based on the model. The model ordinance will draw on the dozens of existing buffer ordinances currently enforced by many communities, all of which share a few basic features. The ordinance:
stipulates the buffer width (depending on existing natural features in the corridor)
regulates the allowable type and location of development within or near floodplains
designates allowable uses in the buffer zones, such as recreational use or access, installation of stormwater control measures, or tree removal - link to HRWC Riparian Buffer Model Ordinance pdf file is 228 kb- link to Riparian Forest Buffer (Appendix C) pdf file is 453 kb
Educating riparian landowners
Within these partner communities, HRWC will launch a stewardship program on the value of riparian vegetative buffers for local water quality and watershed protection. We will develop and distribute educational materials on riparian buffers to residents. Additionally, HRWC is seeking landowners who have recently installed riparian buffers, or may be interested in enhancing or installing a model buffer demonstration site on their property. These demonstration sites will be used to illustrate good riparian buffer management techniques through a series of open houses sponsored by HRWC.
Would you like to see local examples of working riparian buffers? HRWC created a Riparian Buffer Tour Guide for each pilot community participating in the Huron Buffer Initiative. The guides are now available through Microsoft Live Search Maps. Click on one of the communities to start your tour. When you click on an individual image, a larger-size image will appear in a new window.
- Green Oak Township, - Putname Township, - Scio Township, and - Ypsilanti Charter Township.
Contact Watershed Planner Elizabeth Riggs at 734/769-5123 x15 or send her an email at eriggs@hrwc.org for more information about this project.
FOREST COVER AMPLIFIES THE BENEFITS OF BUFFERED STREAMS(adapted from Tennessee Valley Authority Economic Development www.tvaed.com)Those benefits include:
Reduction of watershed imperviousness. An average buffer width of 100 feet reduces watershed imperviousness by 5 percent. Buffers discourage excessive storm drain enclosures and channel hardening. They prevent increases in runoff from impervious cover and subsequent erosion and overflow of headwater streams.
More room for best practices. Where topography, floodplain limits, and groundwater limits allow, buffers provide more room between developed areas and streams for the placement of best practice modifications, like storm-water ponds. They also improve septic system performance. Even a modest buffer provides space and access for future stream restoration, bank stabilization, or reforestation.
Flood control. Property too close to a stream may experience flooding, standing water, and bank erosion. Other, more expensive flood controls are not necessary if a buffer includes the 100-year floodplain. Stream “right-of-way” allows for lateral movement, and most stream channels shift or widen over time. A buffer protects both the stream and nearby properties.
Protection from stream-bank erosion. Tree roots consolidate floodplain and stream-bank soils, reducing the potential for severe soil erosion. Avoiding construction activity on steep slopes along a stream is the best way to prevent such erosion.
Community enhancement. Buffers can be attractive amenities that add to property values. They provide the foundation for greenways, and such connected open space allows pedestrians and bikes to move efficiently through a community.
Removal of water pollutants. When properly placed, buffers remove pollutants and control flows from developed areas. When properly designed, they can provide effective pollutant removal for development located within 150 feet of the buffer boundary. A forest canopy prevents further stream warming in developed watersheds.
Protection of wetlands. Stream buffers can protect wetlands frequently found near streams.
Improved habitat. Buffers provide food and habitat for wildlife. Leaf litter is the base food source for many stream ecosystems, and forests provide woody debris that creates cover and habitat structure for aquatic insects and fish. Riparian corridors preserve important terrestrial habitat, including forest cover. They are important transition zones, rich in species. A mile of stream buffer can provide 25 to 40 acres of habitat. Unbroken stream buffers provide "highways" for migrations of plant and animal populations. Buffers also provide essential habitat for amphibians, which require both aquatic and terrestrial habitats to complete their life cycle. Buffers maintain the base flow of streams.
Last Updated: December 2007

Good Morning Brandon Township

Good Morning Brandon Township!
The Members of Defending Our Natural Treasures, also now known as D.O.N.T. have started this blog as a repository of Ideas and a place for people to communicate about these ideas in support of our beautiful natural features that we are blessed with in Brandon Township and the surrounding area. The members are focused here, around the headwaters of the Kearsley Creek watershed because we live here and consider it our civic responsibility to maintain this beautiful natural resource. We encourage you to join us thru active participation in planning for a sustainable future for Brandon Township residents, that includes all its inhabitants both people and nature. We are not against development, to clarify we encourage sane and sustainable efforts that take into account the natural features unique to our area. We will work with all concerned to educate the public to ensure the we develop sound environmental building and land use practices that complement these efforts. The global economy we live in mandates that people grow with the times. The arrogance typified by 20th century development and management techniques are fast becoming irrelevant in todays world, so you see it's not what we are against it's what we are for.