• California Rangeland Watersheds

Fact Sheet No. 18:

Stream Channel and Riparian Area Monitoring for Ranchers (1)

Introduction

It is important for landowners to monitor the stream channel and adjacent riparian area to assess whether their streamside land uses are affecting water quality. The two monitoring forms in this fact sheet were acquired from Montana and Wyoming and may be useful on your ranch. In addition you should always take photos of the stream channel and riparian area at the same time and location each year.

After collecting several years of data, you should be able to determine if the stream channel and riparian area are on an upward, stable, or downward trend. If you observe a widening channel, channel downcutting, more than 10% eroding banks, increasing frequency of new streambars, noxious weeds or unvegetated streambanks, encroaching upland shrub species, lack of shrub and tree regeneration, and/or hedged shrubs, you may need to review grazing and other ranch management practices.

Consistency is the key to obtaining useful information; it is extremely important that the same person collects the information at the same location and at the same time each year. Monitoring should be done immediately after livestock grazing in the streamside area. If you rest the pasture, collect the information at about the same time of year as you did the previous year. If the pasture is very large or if stream characteristics vary considerably, try to sample two or more stream lengths, If possible, compare your finding with an ungrazed part of the same stream.

These forms are not intended to replace monitoring forms used by state and federal agencies on grazing allotments. It is suggested that you coordinate your monitoring efforts on grazing allotment with the permitting agency.

Reference

¹Montana Riparian Association Education Committee (8/18/92)

 

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Stream Channel and Riparian Area Monitoring

Short Form

Observer ___________________ Date ______________________ Stream name ____________________________________ Sampling site location (select a 1000' length of stream to monitor) _______________________________________________ Permanent photo points (describe locations) (1) Channel cross-section ______________________ (2) Channel and riparian area overview (take from high point) _______________________________________ Current year weather conditions: a. perennial b. intermittent/ephemeral (doesn't flow all year) c. wet area d. pond a. straight or slightly sinuous b. meandering c. braided (many channels) a. narrowest width: __________ ft. b. widest width: __________ ft. 1. Type of stream on a normal year (circle) 2. Stream meander pattern (circle) 3. Estimate channel width. Measure between high water marks on straight sections of stream. 4. Estimate bank height. Measure on the outside of each meander, from current water level to the top of the bank. _________ ft. (Steep, raw banks may indicate that channel is deepening or downcutting due to increased streamflows and/or increased sediment) 5. Determine streambank characteristics after walking the entire lenght of streams: 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100% (be more specific if you can) _____% of banks breaking off or eroding _____% of banks with overhanging shrubs (willows, alders, etc.) _____% of banks withherbaceous vegetation (grasses and sedges) (Banks that are breaking off or eroding indicate instability. Overhanging vegetation is the most stable.) 6. Estimate number of new, unvegetated stream bars per 1000' length of stream. dry normal wet I. Stream Channel Characteristics (complete every 3 years) none occasional frequent (If frequency of streambars is increasing, streamflows and/or sediment may be increasing) 7. Estimate canopy cover along the streambank (per 1000' stream length): 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100% _____% conifer or deciduous trees _____% shrubs _____% herbaceous (grasses, sedges, forbs) _____% noxious weeds 8. Estimate the amount of bare ground or rock (nonvegetated surface) exposed along the streambank. 0-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-100% 9. Estimate the distance from the streambank to the beginning of the upland shrub community indicated by sagebrush,rabbitbrush, or other dry land species. ______ ft. (Encroachment of upland species indicate a dropping water table) 10. Are small shrub and tree seedlings present? none occasional frequent (If no regeneration is occurring the area is either being overgrazed or site conditions have changed for some reason) 11. Note shape of shrubs. Is there evidence of hedging, high-lining, or umbrella shaped shrubs? none occasional frequent (If occasional or frequent, some overgrazing is occurring.) 12. Time of grazing this year (dates) _____ to _____ 13. Number of AUMs harvested this year. ___ 14. Class of livestock using area. yearling cow/calf sheep other (specify) ____________________ 15. Estimate amount of wildlife use. none occasional frequent (It is important to distinguish between livestock and wildlife effects to design a proper grazing management system) 16. Type of wildlife using area. elk deer moose antelope other _________________ Developed by the Montana Riparian association Education Committee (8/18/92) II. Riparian Vegetation Information III. Utilization Information

Riparian Checklist²

A. Gradient/Slope Steep Moderate Flat B. Predominant Bank Condition Large rocks Small rocks and sand Primarily vegetation Bare or eroding soil C. Streambed Material Large rocks (3-12" or more) Small rocks and sand Sand/silt D. Bank Vegetation Amount Heavy Moderate Light E. Degree of Eroding Banks Rare Common along bends Common on bends and straight sections Does the stream run year-round? Yes No	F. Primary Floodplain Plants Trees Shrubs/grasses Grasses G. Channel Straight Winding Multiple channels H. Width of Floodplain Narrower than channel Same width as channel Wider than channel I. Water Width in September Less than 3 feet 3-10 feet Wider than 10 feet J. Source of Water Springs Other streams Irrigation return Reservoir release Fish Presence Abundant Some fish Few or none
Diagram below may help in assessing stream in question. 2Robert Rudd, Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, Casper, Wy

• Home
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  • Rangeland Watershed Program Fact Sheets
    • California Rangeland Water Quality Management Program
    • Rangeland Watershed Program
    • Nonpoint Sources of Pollution on Rangeland
    • What is a Watershed?
    • Range Management Advisory Committee
    • Range Management Glossary, Water Quality Terms
    • Riparian Terms
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    • Ranch Plans
    • Guide to Resource Management, Records for Ranches
    • Grazing Effects on Riparian Areas
    • Types of Monitoring
    • Photo Points as a Monitoring Tool
    • Water Quality Standards
    • Stream Channel and Riparian Area Monitoring for Ranchers
    • Riparian Pastures
    • Reducing Stream Impacts with Water Developments--An Example
    • Grazing Management Terms
    • Watershed Evaluation Checklist
    • Rangeland Watershed Management Program, Stream Watercourse Site Evaluation
    • Natural Resource Management Projects, Photo Plots
    • Manure Loading into Streams from Direct Fecal Deposits
    • Fishery Habitat: 1) Living Space and Reproductive Requirements
    • Fishery Habitat: 2) Temperature Requirements
    • Fishery Habitat: 3) Sediment and Pollutants
    • Fishery Habitat: 4) Dissolved Oxygen
    • Soil Surface Management of Annual Rangelands
    • Rangeland Water Quality: Where are the Problems?
    • Ranch Maps
    • Basic Concepts: Hydrology, the Hydrologic Cycle, Watershed, Watershed Management, and Watershed Water Balance
    • Precipitation and Rangeland Watershed Management (pdf)
    • Exactly What is a 100-Year Event? (pdf)
    • Interception on Rangeland Watersheds (pdf)
    • Infiltration and Overland Flow (pdf)
    • Streamflow (pdf)
    • Monitoring Streamflow (pdf)
    • Nonpoint Source Pollution Monitoring (pdf)
• Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program
• Wildlife management
• Livestock health

For more information contact:

John M. Harper
Livestock & Natural Resources Advisor
jmharper@ucdavis.edu
(707) 463-4495

Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California

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