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American Fisheries Society Position Statement:
Strategies for Riparian Area Management 1
Gordon N. Haugen 2
Abstract.--A draft of the American Fisheries Society
Position Statement for the Management of Riparian Areas
is presented.
I NTROnUCT ION
succeeded in elevating the visibility of riparian
area management to a position where there are
enough policies written and executive orders
passed at the Federal and State level s to hring
about aggressive riparian area management to the
benefit of dependent resources.
The American Fisheries Society is actively
involved in creating puhlic awareness of the need
for healthy riparian areas to sustain productive
fi shery resources. vle have al so "'10 rked wi th
puhlic agencies and private landowners to bring
ahout improved riparian area management on State,
Federal, Provi nci al, and pri vate 1ands throughout
the United States and Canada. In 1977, as a
Society, we met with the Range and Wildlife
Societies in Reno, Nevada, to discuss the
management of riparian ecosystems and explore
strategies for managing these areas to the henefit
of fish and wildlife resources.
ISSUE DEFINITION
This year, the American Fisheries Society's
Environmental Concern Committee is developing a
national policy statement on riparian area
management. In our draft statement of policy, we
defined riparian areas as geographically
delineate0 areas with distinctive vegetative,
fi shery, and other resource val ues compri sing both
the aquatic and riparian ecosystems, and providing
both the structural and nonstructural fi sheries
habitat components (i .e., streambank vegetation,
channel structure, and water qual i ty) requi red to
sustain productive fishery resources.
In 1978, the ~~estern Division estahlished a
Riparian Committee which has published a riparian
pOSition paper, developed resolutions for Division
and National meetings, sponsored symposia,
~ub~ished a best management practices paper, and
1S 1n the process of completing a slide tape
program on western riparian areas, as well as a
paper on the management of large organic dehris.
The Oregon Chapter was i nst rumenta 1 in shapi ng
legislation in Oregon to give tax credits to
private landowners who manage riparian areas to
benefit fisheries and wildlife resources. This
effort on'behalf of the Oregon Chapter has
encouraged the Idaho and Montana Chapters to
i nit i ate s i III i 1a r 1e gi s 1at ion. Th e He st ern
D~vision has a continuous working relationship
w1th land management agencies--particularly the
Forest Service--to hring riparian area management
to the forefront.
CONCERNS
Throughout North America, many streams no longer
retain their once-productive characteristics;
consequently, they now support reduced fish
populations. More than a century of human use and
development along streams has brought about many
changes. Domestic livestock grazing within
riparian areas and its resulting impacts on
fisheries hahitat throughout North America is
well-documented in the literature. ~vestock
grazing is one of the multiple uses of the
riparian area rangelands; however, years of
improper grazing is one of the major reasons why
so much of North America's public and private
riparian area rangelands are in poor condition.
Other resources that impact fisheries habitat in
riparian areas are timher harvest, mineral and oil
exploration, agriculture, urban development, and
road construction. The Western Division of the
Ameri can Fi sheri es Soc i ety add res sed these uses in
their 1981 and 1984 position publications. If
these competing uses are allowed to continue
within riparian areas without sufficient
management constraints to protect the integrity of
riparian habitat, adverse impacts \'lill continue to
occur on North America's fisheries resource.
Research has shown that degraded riparian area
fisheries habitat can be re-established, hut
social, pol itical, and economic considerations
often do not allow this course of action. Today's
la~d ~nd fisheries managers must not only manage
eX1st1ng resources properly, but also must correct
past mi stakes.
In 1979, the ~Jestern Division sponsored three
symposia dealing with riparian area management at
their meeting in Kalispell, Montana. Two were of
a technical nature, whil e the thi rd dealt with
policy. The policy session brought together the
leadership of the major land management ~gencies
t ~rou~hout the West to present thei r pos it ions on
r1par1an area management.
This involvement by Chapters and Divisions, has
1Paper presented at the First North American
Riparian Conference: Riparian Ecosystems and their
Management. -- Reconciling Conflicting Uses, April
16-18, 1985, Tucson, AZ.
2Gordon Haugen, Tua1itin, OR, is a Past President of the Western Division, American Fisheries
Society.
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2.
Cooperate with public and private land
mani'!gers in the planning and management of
riparian areas to meet State, Federal, and
Prov i !lci all and management agency
mandates.
3.
Request that riparian areas receive
special consideration as distinct habitats
in the ~anning and management of State,
Federal, and Provi!lcial lands.
4.
Request that 1al1d managers develop best
management practices for managing riparian
areas, and update these practices as new
research and management information
becomes available.
5.
Hork for improved legislative and
Congressional appropriations for
restoration and rehabilitation of riparian
areas on public and private lands.
6.
Work towards obtaining a better balance of
expertise for assignment to land
management advisory boards.
7.
Emphasize coordination with the Rureau of
Lanrl Management, and State and Provincial
divisions that are responsible for the
management of riparian areas. Continue to
work with the Forest Service to encourage
that their riparian area policies and
management prescriptions are adhered to.
8.
tJork towards amending thp. Federal Land
r1anagement Pol icy Act and the National
Forest r~anagement Act to incl ude
additional direction on riparian area
administration if the present management
direction and policies are determined
i nadeqlJate by Di vi s ions al1d Chapters in
addressing progressive riparian area
management.
9.
Continue Division and Chapter involvement
in achieving State riparian tax incentive
legislation.
COURSE OF ACTION
A.
Policy
It is the policy of the American Fisheries
Society (AFS) to aggressively foster an increased
awareness of riparian area fisheries habitat
vi'tliles i'!nd management l1y State, Federal,
Provincial, i'!nd local agencies. The /\FS supports
close coordination and cooperation among these
agencies in managing and improving riparian areas
on State, Federal, Provincial, and private lands
in North America. The AFS strongly urges that all
land management agencies declare as a matter of
policy that riparian areas be recognized as
distinctive habitat, and that they be declared
areas of critical environmental concern. The AFS
also urges that riparian areas he managed with
state-of-the-art management practices, and that
management prescriptions be vigorously enforced to
protect fisheries and other resource values for
the benefi t of all users.
Since adequate streamflow is essential to the
vegetative communities within the riparian area,
the AFS strongly urges that State, Federal, and
Provincial agencies legally recognize instream
flows as a beneficial public use so that riparian
areas can be maintained and protected. These
agencies should identify i'tnd quantify riparian
area resources and instream flows in the
development of land and water management plans.
The AFS encoll rages ongoi ng and future research and
manage~ent on riparian i'trea habitats relative to
livestock grazing, mining, energy exploration and
development, water storage, irrigation use, timher
harvest, road construction, and other land IJses
that may affect riparian areas. Scientific
studies and inventories can provide the hasis for
restoration, maintenance, and protection of
riparian area fish habitats. Therefore, the AFS
strongly recommends that all land managers
actively ~mrk to determine and implement
state-of-the-art management practices for riparian
areas.
8.
Action Plan
The AFS will achieve this policy by working
wi th all ri pari an area users and managers to
improve ri pari an area management. Thi s wi 11, in
turn, provide the riparian area fisheries hahitat
components (i .e., streambank vegetation, channel
structure, and water quality) required to maintain
self-sustaining productive populations of fish for
recreational and commercial users. The following
act ions 11i 11 be taken by the AFS to increase the
awareness of fisheries habitat mi'!nagement required
within riparian areas:
1.
10. Insi st that ri pari an area managernent
prescriptions are adhered to by State,
Federal, and Provincial land management
agencies and that they be monitored for
effecti veness.
The AFS is dedicated to address these action items
to insure that the integrity of riparian areas is
maintained in order to enhance and perpetuate the
qual ity and quanti ty of fi sheries resources across
North America.
Foster cooperative relationships among
land management agencies and private
landowners responsible for riparian area
management th roughollt No rthAmeri ca.
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