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A Call for Action: Protection of Riparian Habitat in the Arid and
Semi-Arid West 1
Jon A. Kusler 2
INADEQUATE PROTECTION
State
I! Riparian habitatl! in the arid and semi-arid
West is a vanishing resource equal to or greater
in value than the wetlands of the Midwest, East,
and South. The fact is that despite a great deal
of discussion and the conduct of several national
riparian habitat symposia, there has been little
protection. Huge acreages continue to be destroyed
each year in the 20 states west of the Mississippi
due to urbanization, flood control (draina~e,
levees), diversion of ground and surface waters,
agriculture, grazing. acid rain, and other pollution.
At the state level, there are also no overall
protection policies. No state east of the Mississippi
has adopted a comprehensive wetland or riparian
habitat protection program for public or private
lands, unlike the coastal states which have all
adopted some protection for their coastal wetlands
and 11 eastern states which have adopted freshwater protection statutes. Oregon has taken an
important step in protecting riparian habitat by
adopting both planning guidelines for riverside lands
and a state tax credit program. Six western states
have adopted floodplain regulatory laws--California,
Montana, Washington, Oklahoma, Nebraska and
Colorado--but these are narrowly aimed at reducing
flood losses and have no provision for vegetation.
The scientific base documenting the wildlife,
flood control, water pollution, erosion control,
fisheries, and recreational values of riparian habitat has been strengthened in the last five years,
yet there are no systematic protection policies or
procedures at any level of government:
Local
A t the local level, thousands of communities in
the West have adopted floodplain zoning laws, but
only a handful have incorporated riparian habitat
protection provisions. This handful includes communities such as Boulder, Colorado and Sacramento,
California.
Federal
A t the federal level. riparian habitat protection policies have been adopted by the Forest Service and BLM. But these policies are only partially
implemented. The floodplain management and wetland protection Executive Orders which apply to
public land management also protect some riparian
habitat but are limited in their coverage. The
Section 404 permit program implemented by the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers with E.P. A. and the Fish
and Wildlife Service partially applies since permits
are required only for discharge into I! watersl! and
adjacent I! wetlands. II But most of the riparian
habitat in the arid West does not meet the strict
regulatory test for "wetlands. I!
Private Landowner
A t the private landowner level, some individuals
and corporations (e. g., duck clubs) have protected
habitat, but this has been accomplished with limited
technical assistance and information "on best management practices. I! Federal and state developmentoriented financial incentives have often discouraged
protection.
Rather than protect riparian habitat. federal
construction and subsidy programs have often encouraged its destruction. These include flood control projects and flood insurance subsidies. irrigation and other water projects and subsidies, and
agricultural subsidies.
WHY A LACK OF PROTECTION POLICIES?
The lack of coherent riparian habitat protection
policies at any level of government is only partially
due to competing land uses. Development and agricultural interests are, of course, powerful. But
there are other reasons.
IPaper presented at the First North American
Riparian Conference, Rip'arian Ecosystems and Their
Management: Reconciling Conflicting Uses, April 1618, 1985. Tucson, Arizona.
First, most riparian is not considered "wetland. I!
In formulating wetland definitions at the federal
level, "ri.parian habitat" was not included. Wetlands
have been defined for thp purposes of Section 404,
the National Wetland Inventory and National Wetland
Classification System, the Wetland Protection Executive Onler and most other wetland programs and
?
'-'Chairman, Association of State Wetland Managers, Chester, Vermont.
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management personnel often view stream-side habitat as not as important, from a waterfowl perspective, as classic cattail marshes. Consequently,
riparian habitat is not often viewed nationally (in
the East, Northeast, Midwest and Northwest) as
particularly valuable. In contrast, in the West,
riparian habitat is much dryer and does not qualify
as wetland although it may play an equally important or more important role (in a relative sense)
than eastern wetlands for fisheries, wildlife, poll ution control and other wildlife.
initiatives in terms of saturated conditions. Much
of the riparian habitat in the East and Northeast
qualifies as wetland by this definition. But the
majority of riparian habitat in the arid and semiarid West does not. In dry areas, riparian habitat
is "wet" in comparison to adjacent lands, but not
wet enough to qualify as wetland (as defined in
the East).
Second, legislators, interest groups, and landowners have not received specific enough guidance
from the scientists and the land managers with
regard to
A distinction between Eastern and Western
riparian habitat protection needs is desirable if
protection is ever to be achieved in the Western
states.
--specific types of land and vegetation needing protection,
--the reason for protecting these areas,
--the types of uses needing regulation and
the standards necessary to achieve such
protection.
Protection Efforts Should Focus Upon
the Lowest Common Denominator for All
Protection Programs--Management Guidelines for Uses Which Threaten Such Lands
RECOMMENDATIONS
Universities, agencies, or interest group s
should develop guidelines and handbooks pertaining
to agriculture, grazing, flood control, urbanization, and other uses to reduce the impacts of uses
and, in some instances, promote the reestablishment of vegetation in denuded areas. Management
handbooks should document success stories in protecting and enhancing riparian habitat.
What can be done to strengthen riparian habitat protection?
An Effort Must Be Made to Clear
Away the Semantic Clouds
Precision in thinking and terminology is
needed. Efforts to convince Congress, eastern
scientists, and federal agencies that western
riparian habitat is, in fact, "wetland" are likely
to fail in light of the recent effort to reach agreement on the definition of wetland for the Wetland
Classification System, Section 404 regulations and
other purposes. Protection of western riparian
habitat should be advocated on its own--as a class
of lands similar to and as valuable as wetlands-but not meeting strict wetland definitions. Those
interested in protecting riparian habitat should
begin with basics: which lands need to be protected
and why?
The Riparian Habitat Science Base Should
Be Summarized, Gaps in This Base Identified, and a Coherent Research Program
Proposed to Fill Those Gaps
Existing studies should be summarized with
regard to the state of knowledge pertaining to
riparian habitat values and protection needs. The
scientific basis for various management practices
should also be summarized.
A similar science-assessment effort is now
underway by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
for "wetlands" at the Corps Vicksburg Laboratory
which could serve as a model for such an assessment. Once research gaps were identified, a coherent federal, state, and university research
program should be proposed to fill the gaps.
Distinctions Should Be Made Between
Major Categories of Riparian Habitat
Riparian habitat throughout the nation shares
certain characteristics:
--location on "riparian" lands along streams,
rivers, arroyos, ponds, lakes, other water
bodies;
--growth of vegetation dependent upon relatively high soil moisture content;
--periodic flooding;
--alluvial or other characteristic soils (some,
but not all lands);
--special water-related functions such as
erosion control;
--special management needs.
Opportunities for Protection Should
Be Simultaneously Pursued at All
Levels of Government
There will be no magic solution to riparian
habitat protection. A partnership effort is needed
at all levels of government, building upon existing
efforts and with some new initiatives.
Federal. -- Improved and more specific federal
riparian habitat protection guidelines are needed.
Guidelines already in existence in BLM and the
Forest Service should be given added specificity.
Explicit riparian habitat protection guidelines should
also be incorporated into the U. S. Army Corps of
But there are major differences between eastern and western riparian habitat. In the East,
riparian habitat is often wet enough to actually
qualify as "wetland." Eastern fish and game
7
Engineers Section 404 guidelines since habitat is
II water of the U. S. II
although it may not qualify as
wetland. Riparian habitat protection guidelines
are also needed for federal construction projects
and subsidies for agriculture, water projects and
flood control. Perhaps Congress should consider
termination of subsidies which destroy habitat
much as it has done with the Barrier Resources
Act for coastal barriers.
--up graded floodplain regulations with
riparian habitat protection provisions;
--stream corridor protection ordinances
setting forth multipurpose goals and
development guidelines; and
--broader zoning, subdivision controls, building codes and other special codes establishing setbacks, tree-cutting and other vegetation removal restrictions, restrictions on
filling and grading, and performance
standards for uses within riparian habitat
areas.
State. --State agencies need to develop and
incorporate riparian habitat protection guidelines
into their public land management policies and into
their permitting systems for instream flow.
State
legislatures also need to adopt new riparian habitat
protection laws for the riparian corridor. These
might take the form of tax incentives, public
acquisition and restoration programs, and regulatory programs. New legislation could be modelled
(in part) after similar wetland protection and shoreland corridor zoning laws in the midwest and east.
I and the Association of State Wetland Managers
are presently drafting a model riparian habitat
protection law which may be of some use.
In many urban areas, riparian habitat areas
may best be used as II greenways. II Restoration as
well as control of new development is needed.
Private landowners should be given guidance with
regard to land management practices.
A Coalition of Interest Groups, States,
Researchers and Others Concerned with
Riparian Habitat Protection Should be
Formed to Help Define Protection Goals,
Disseminate Information, and Work for
Specific Habitat Protection Legislation
The time is ripe for a coordinated riparian
habitat protection effort. The symposium and the
National Riparian Habitat Council suggested by Roy
Johnson can be an important start. A pollticalaction coalition similar to the one assembled for
barrier islands is also needed.
Legislatures also need to provide funding and
incentives for mapping, technical assistance and
education for local governments and private landowners.
Local. --Local riparian habitat protection planning is needed as part of local land use planning
and land use regulatory and management efforts.
Protection policies could be implemented through
For success, coordinated western state leadership is essential. Without such coordination and a
concerted protection effort, large-scale riparian
losses will continue. The time for action is now.
(See Proceedings Appendix, p. 515, for the text of the proposed
model Riparian Habitat Protection Statute.
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-- Ed.)