YOUR FAVORITE OUTDOOR SPOT MAY BE A RIPARIAN HABITAT
BY DIANE TIPTON, MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS STATEWIDE INFORMATION OFFICER
If your mind goes blank when you hear the words "riparian habitat" you are not alone. Yet one of your favorite outdoor spots is likely a plant-rich place along a river, stream or lake-in other words a riparian habitat.
Are you attracted to the lush vegetation surrounding a mountain stream, a ribbon of graceful cottonwoods along a prairie stream, or the plant-rich shores of a lake? These are some of Montana's typical riparian habitats.
Summer, winter or fall, they are fun places to explore and to watch for wildlife. Depending on the type of riparian area you visit, you may see deer, elk, moose, antelope, black bear, grizzly bear, beaver, mink, upland game birds, bats, bald eagles, owls, songbirds and waterfowl there.
Only about four percent of the state, or 3.7 million acres, is riparian and wetland habitat, yet 265, or more than 40 percent, of the state's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish use this habitat. About 32 percent of species in greatest need of conservation also require riparian habitats, according to the Comprehensive Fish and Wildlife Conservation Strategy prepared by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. This work, which assesses the state's fish, wildlife, and the places they live, can be viewed on the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov under Wild Things, Hot Topics, Final Draft CFWCS.
The quality of Montana's blue ribbon streams are uniquely dependent on the variety of riparian forbs, shrubs and trees such as cottonwood, alder, serviceberry, chokecherry, and willow to keep them intact. Riparian vegetation helps slow stream erosion, adds nutrients to the water, improves spawning habitat, and helps to maintain the cool water temperatures that many fish species need.
Riparian habitat may be degraded when water diversions and dams prevent flooding, wetlands are drained; trees are over harvested; noxious weeds invade; and when livestock over-graze or people recreate there too much.
For example, dams and diversions, according to some experts in the state, may be preventing new cottonwood trees from getting established along some of the state's rivers. Without flooding, the fresh layers of silty soil--that cottonwoods need to get established--are no longer being carried onto gravel bars along the rivers. While there may be stands of huge cottonwoods in these areas, there are few young trees there to replace the older ones when they die.
Because riparian areas are critical to the state's wildlife and fish, and many need to be restored in some way, FWP works with landowners, watershed groups, communities and others to help conserve this habitat. Programs such as the Future Fisheries Improvement Program; Montana Wetlands Legacy Program; Montana Fishing Access Site Program; and Upland Game Bird Habitat Enhancement Program offer assistance in planning improvements, and in some cases provide grants for special projects. The Habitat Montana Program may work with landowners on conservation easements to preserve riparian habitat.
For information on these programs, please visit the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov or call FWP's wildlife division at 406-444-2612.
BY DIANE TIPTON, MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS STATEWIDE INFORMATION OFFICER
If your mind goes blank when you hear the words "riparian habitat" you are not alone. Yet one of your favorite outdoor spots is likely a plant-rich place along a river, stream or lake-in other words a riparian habitat.
Are you attracted to the lush vegetation surrounding a mountain stream, a ribbon of graceful cottonwoods along a prairie stream, or the plant-rich shores of a lake? These are some of Montana's typical riparian habitats.
Summer, winter or fall, they are fun places to explore and to watch for wildlife. Depending on the type of riparian area you visit, you may see deer, elk, moose, antelope, black bear, grizzly bear, beaver, mink, upland game birds, bats, bald eagles, owls, songbirds and waterfowl there.
Only about four percent of the state, or 3.7 million acres, is riparian and wetland habitat, yet 265, or more than 40 percent, of the state's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish use this habitat. About 32 percent of species in greatest need of conservation also require riparian habitats, according to the Comprehensive Fish and Wildlife Conservation Strategy prepared by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. This work, which assesses the state's fish, wildlife, and the places they live, can be viewed on the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov under Wild Things, Hot Topics, Final Draft CFWCS.
The quality of Montana's blue ribbon streams are uniquely dependent on the variety of riparian forbs, shrubs and trees such as cottonwood, alder, serviceberry, chokecherry, and willow to keep them intact. Riparian vegetation helps slow stream erosion, adds nutrients to the water, improves spawning habitat, and helps to maintain the cool water temperatures that many fish species need.
Riparian habitat may be degraded when water diversions and dams prevent flooding, wetlands are drained; trees are over harvested; noxious weeds invade; and when livestock over-graze or people recreate there too much.
For example, dams and diversions, according to some experts in the state, may be preventing new cottonwood trees from getting established along some of the state's rivers. Without flooding, the fresh layers of silty soil--that cottonwoods need to get established--are no longer being carried onto gravel bars along the rivers. While there may be stands of huge cottonwoods in these areas, there are few young trees there to replace the older ones when they die.
Because riparian areas are critical to the state's wildlife and fish, and many need to be restored in some way, FWP works with landowners, watershed groups, communities and others to help conserve this habitat. Programs such as the Future Fisheries Improvement Program; Montana Wetlands Legacy Program; Montana Fishing Access Site Program; and Upland Game Bird Habitat Enhancement Program offer assistance in planning improvements, and in some cases provide grants for special projects. The Habitat Montana Program may work with landowners on conservation easements to preserve riparian habitat.
For information on these programs, please visit the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov or call FWP's wildlife division at 406-444-2612.
