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Benefits
Creating Riparian Buffers
Riparian Buffer Species Native to PA
Non-Native & Aggressive Species to Avoid Planting
Programs Available to Landowners
 

Stream Bank Fencing and Riparian Buffer Planting

Protect Your Stream
Healthy streams and rivers are essential natural resources. Perhaps the most significant measure that can be taken to improve the health of a river or stream is to protect the land that is adjacent to it.
The vegetated land adjacent to a stream is part of the riparian zone. This zone includes the stream, its banks, the surrounding floodplain and any connected wetlands.
A riparian buffer is an area of undisturbed vegetation between the stream and active land areas. It is important to maintain a riparian buffer for ecological, as well as aesthetic, benefits.
One of the best ways for herd farmers to begin to establish a riparian buffer is to install stream bank fencing. Fencing cattle and other animals out of a stream or waterway not only improves the health of the stream, it improves herd health as well.

Benefits of Stream Bank Fencing and Riparian Buffers

To Farmers ...
Improved herd health: Clean, dry cattle are healthier cattle. When cattle are permitted to access stream banks, they create areas where mud, water, manure, urine and other secretions accumulate and mix. These conditions increase the risk of udder infections such as mastitis, foot problems and gastrointestinal diseases. Installing stream bank fencing eliminates this risk. Adding stabilized cattle crossings also eliminates the risk of leg injuries resulting from steep, slippery banks. In addition, better water quality means better drinking water for your animals.

Financial gain: There are many fencing programs that pay 100% of the cost of fencing, and some even allow a farmer to earn money simply by participating. See the list of available programs in this brochure for details.

Options for pasture management: Stream bank fencing splits a typical pasture into two sub-units. Once an electrified fence is in place, creating additional sub-units is cheap and easy. By improving management options, farmers can significantly increase the efficiency of pasture use by grazing cattle on a rotational basis.

Good public relations: Farmers are increasingly under pressure to consider how their land management affects others. Stream bank fencing is a big step in protecting a shared resource, and maintaining good public relations.

Other benefits: Riparian buffers are excellent wildlife habitat, and will attract a host of species, from songbirds to waterfowl to game animals. Improvements to fish habitat are enormous. Reduced bank erosion protects property such as buildings
and bridges.

To Local Communities ...
Improved water quality: Riparian buffers protect rivers and streams from pollution. The trees, shrubs and other plants that make up the buffer act as a natural filter system by absorbing pollutants such as excess nutrients, sediments, chemicals and bacteria. The result is a dramatic improvement in water quality, making streams safer for fishing, swimming and drinking water supplies. An Iowa State University study concluded that native grass buffers as narrow as twenty feet can result in a 90% reduction in nutrients and an 80% reduction in sediment entering a stream.

Improved watershed function: Stream fencing and riparian buffers improve important aspects of watershed function. Trees are especially important components of a buffer because they have deep root systems that hold the soil and resist erosion. They act like shock absorbers that diffuse the energy of floodwaters to reduce damage downstream. As a result, flood frequency and severity decreases, as does associated damage to life, property and infrastructure. Groundwater recharge increases. Bank erosion and corresponding sedimentation is reduced, protecting property and reducing maintenance issues. All of these benefits can result in major economic savings to local communities.

Enhanced fish habitat: Of the many benefits of stream bank fencing and riparian buffers, effects on fish habitat are among the fastest and most profound. Several studies document impressive recovery after fencing - streams become narrower, increase in velocity, and regain gravel bottoms needed for spawning. The quantity and variety of aquatic invertebrates increase, with a corresponding increase in total fish weight - over 400 % in one case. The benefits of forested buffers include cooler water, addition of leaf litter to feed invertebrates and production of large woody debris to provide cover. Forested buffers also provide a variety of intricate ecosystem functions such as creating the woody vegetation needed in the life cycle of key species such as stoneflies and mayflies.

To the Entire Region ...
Overall ecosystem health: The Conewago Creek and its tributaries flow into the Susquehanna River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. By reducing the input of excess nutrients, sediment and other pollutants, installing stream bank fencing and riparian buffers helps restore the overall health
of the Bay and the people who depend on it for food, water
and income.

Enhanced fish and wildlife habitat: The health and sustainability of many populations of fish and wildlife depend on clean water. Water pollution has resulted in serious declines in the populations of blue crab, striped bass, oyster and waterfowl populations in the Chesapeake Bay. Continued progress at keeping excess nutrients and sediment out of the Bay's tributaries such as the Susquehanna is critical for their recovery.

Human benefits: It is difficult to overstate the value of clean water to humans, from the economic boost of tourism on the Chesapeake, to the lifestyle of the Tangier waterman, to the taste of the softshell crab, to the pull of a hooked striped bass on the angler's line. Stream bank fencing provides benefits all the way from the pastured farmland of the Conewago Creek watershed to the vast Chesapeake Bay ecosystem that it feeds.

Creating Riparian Buffers

Use a diversity of native plants to provide habitat diversity. Many non-native species are highly aggressive, and are not used by certain wildlife and fish species for food and cover. Choose from the list of native plants provided below.

Include a mixture of trees, shrubs and grasses within the buffer. This will result in the diversity that occurs naturally within forested areas. Native birds and mammals depend on the diversity of our natural forests.

Use vegetation that is most appropriate for the site, considering available moisture and sunlight.  Observe what species of vegetation are growing adjacent to the site. This is often a good indication of which types of plants will do well in your buffer.


Riparian Buffer Species Native to Pennsylvania

When installing your riparian buffer, choose from the following native plant species:

Avoid Planting Non-Native and Aggressive Species

When establishing your riparian buffer, avoid planting these species. Many of these plants are very
aggressive and tend to choke out native species:

Stream Bank Fencing and Riparian Planting Programs Available to Landowners

There are several programs available to landowners who want to install stream bank fences and riparian buffers. These programs pay 100% of the cost of installation, and even allow for a net financial gain to farmers. Check out these programs:


USDA's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).
Under the CREP program, landowners must fence a minimum buffer width of 35 feet. CREP will pay for 100% of the cost of the fence, the plantings, and installation. CREP also pays annual rent rates for the land area taken out of production. Rates depend on soil type and county in which the area is located. In addition, several one-time bonus payments are available. Depending on the size of the fencing project and the type of practices implemented, CREP can amount to cash profit for farmers in the thousands of dollars!

CREP is also available for landowners who do not graze livestock, but want to convert old pasture to forest habitat. In such cases, CREP will pay for 100% of the cost of the plantings and no fence is required. Other financial benefits are available for other conservation practices. To learn more about CREP, contact your local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office at (717) 921-2380.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Farm Stewardship and Stream Stewardship Programs.
Under CBF's Farm Stewardship Program, livestock farmers must fence a minimum buffer width of 15 feet. CBF will pay for 100% of the cost of the fence (up to two wires), the plantings and installation. In addition, if a farmer wants to establish a buffer width of more than 15 feet, the farmer earns financial credits ($500 to $1000 an acre) toward other best management practices, such as installation of stream crossings.

Creating riparian buffers isn't just for livestock farmers-CBF's Stream Stewardship Program allows any streamside landowner who wants to establish a riparian buffer to participate. CBF will pay for 100% of the plants and installation costs. Contact CBF at (717) 234-5550 for more details on both the Farm and Stream Stewardship Programs.


Ducks Unlimited's Habitat Stewardship Program.
DU's program requires a minimum buffer width of 15 feet, and pays for 100% cost of the fence, the plantings and installation. By fencing buffer areas wider than 15 feet, landowners can earn credits of $1000 an acre toward installation of stream crossings and other best management practices. Contact DU's Scott Reinhart at (610) 824-2677 for more details.

DEP's Stream Bank Fencing Program.
This program requires a minimum buffer width of 12 feet, pays for 100% cost of the fence and installation, and will also pay for the installation of one stream crossing. Plantings are not covered. For more information, contact DEP at (717) 705-4707.

Other programs are available for a wide variety of conservation practices on agricultural lands, from
establishment of riparian buffers to restoring wetlands and wildlife habitat. Contact your County
Conservation District to learn about other programs:

Dauphin County Conservation District: (717) 921-8100
Lancaster County Conservation District: (717) 299-5361
Lebanon County Conservation District: (717) 272-3908

The Tri-County Conewago Creek Association Can Help

The Tri-County Conewago Creek Association is a nonprofit volunteer organization committed to monitoring, preserving, enhancing and promoting the Conewago Creek Watershed through education, community involvement and watershed improvement projects. TCCCA can help landowners interested in establishing stream bank fences and riparian buffers by:

• Helping to identify stream bank fencing and riparian planting programs.
   
• Identifying native species that will thrive locally.
   
• Providing volunteer labor to plant trees, shrubs
  and grasses.
   
• Providing volunteer labor to maintain the fence
  and plantings.
  
  
  To learn more, contact TCCCA at (717) 367-4415 or info@conewagocreek.org
  
  Acknowledgement
  This information is the content of a brochure developed by TCCCA and funded by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund through a Section 319 Clean Water Act grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This grant has been administered by the Lancaster County Conservation District, TCCCA's partner in the brochure development.
  
  
  Source: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, www.cbf.org
  Source: Wildlands Conservancy, www.wildlandspa.org
  
  
  
   

© 2003 Tri-County Conewago Creek Association