The Arizona Riparian Council meets yearly to discuss contempory issues in riparian restoration and resource management. This year we were lucky enough to tour Date Creek on the OX Ranch and Date Creek Ranch, and observe their various range management techniques, as well as discuss an assessment tool used to evaluate the sucess of their management.
The tool is called the Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment (RSRA) protocol. We discussed its applicability to Date Creek. Several of the issues that were raised were familiar from working with CNHP's Wetland Assessments: accuracy versus consistency, and what a number score really tells us about the present and future condition of an ecosystem.
What we are looking for in an assessment is quantitative, repeatable data for trend analysis, using a minimum of effort or professional training. The RSRA features sections on Water Quality, Stream Form, Riparian Vegetation, Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat, and Aquatic (fish) Habitat. It is focused on evaluating how well an ecosystem provides for wildlife.
Floodplane connectivity, or ratios of bankful to flood stage, are important measures of hydrologic function. High flows that flood over a large vegetated area better recharge Groundwater, Dissipate Energy (prevent scouring action), Leach Salt, Deliver Nutrients, and Establish Seedbeds.
The continued probably-natural disturbance of riparian areas might cause problems in assessments that focus on condition rather than process. The streams we witnessed, while averaging 3 out of 5 for most indices, was certainly recovering, with no major obstacles (invasive species, poor management) to prevent an eventual 5 out of 5 score, barring future natural disturbances.
I advocated a protocol based on ease of restoration. Quantitation would be done using dollars, rather than an arbitrary scale. Thus, a stream that needs $1,000,000 restoration could be compared to a stream like Date Creek that could, with no further inputs, recover completely.
sinking deep
