Local river advocacy organization Friends of the Mad River (FMR) has partnered with the program Stream Wise to help landowners protect and restore privately-owned streams.
FMR will be providing free, onsite assessments of private streams across The Valley – offering suggestions, technical assistance and other resources to landowners that align with state riparian buffer programs, regulations and other guidelines.
Stream Wise was launched in 2022 by the Lake Champlain Basin Program. It partners with local organizations like FMR, which then connect with local landowners in the Lake Champlain Basin.
In a Stream Wise webinar, ecological landscape designer Holly Greenleaf said the program was created because streambank erosion accounts for approximately 18% of the annual phosphorus load to Lake Champlain. She said there is a lack of consistent regulatory protections for riparian buffers across the basin, as well as a gap in riparian resources for small private parcels of land.
Supporting streams can mean a variety of things, according to Stream Wise. It can mean stopping harmful practices that damage streams, restoring their natural functions, or “doing nothing and letting nature heal with ecological succession,” Stream Wise wrote on its website.
In terms of restoration, landowners can let vegetation along streams grow wild, plant a variety of native vegetation, or direct water runoff into more vegetated areas – creating swales, trenches, rain gardens and other bits of ‘green infrastructure.’ These are just a few examples that can help reduce soil erosion and other impacts of flooding.
Stream Wise also provides suggestions that balance landowners’ desires with stream protection. For example, instead of cutting down entire trees for a better view, landowners can create a ‘window’ for a view by cutting just the bottom one-third of branches.
In order to incentivize communities to participate, Stream Wise gives awards to landowners who meet criteria for protecting and restoring streams. They have given out 25 awards across the state.
“Streams are the lifeblood of our communities,” said Onome Ofoman, who recently finished up a year of AmeriCorps service as FMR’s watershed engagement coordinator.
She said that streams play a critical role in flood control, as well as irrigating agricultural land, serving as sources of drinking water and providing recreation around swimming, fishing and kayaking.
Valley landowners who want to learn how to better support their streams can contact FMR for an onsite visit: https://bit.ly/fmr-streamwise.
Stream Wise also offers a series of guidebooks for landowners on their website, including texts about stream restoration, storm water, road management, rain gardens and others.
