Riparian Areas
Growing and protecting trees along the lengths of our rivers and streams safeguards our water, provides vital habitat for our threatened salmon species, and improves resilience to climate change. To realize those functions, time is of the essence: trees take years—or even decades—to grow tall enough to provide significant shade, habitat, and carbon sequestration benefits. Meanwhile, land conversion pressures from expanding development threaten to lock in riparian impairment.
Intact forested riparian corridors can better preserve and restore habitat function than land converted to residential or commercial development. A comprehensive suite of tools, including improved regulatory frameworks and funding for incentives, must be deployed to deliver the scale and pace of riparian protection and restoration needed to achieve resilience in Puget Sound.
Implementing the Benthic Index of Biotic Integration and other Implementation Strategies supports the success of this strategy.
Ecologically important lands Restore riparian and in-stream habitat
Actions
Establish and implement science-based riparian protection, restoration, and management policies that result in a minimum ‘1 Site Potential Tree Height’ forested riparian area standard. (ID #11)
Key opportunities for 2022-2026 include:
- Establish and implement a statewide riparian standard and ensure it is included in local land use planning and regulation;
- Establish a riparian plant propagation program at public and private nurseries to meet future riparian restoration needs;
- Gather and evaluate riparian management, guidance, and implementation data;
- Enhance funding for and capacity of riparian area landowners, tribal governments, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations (for example, Conservation Corps) to acquire, restore, and manage riparian properties;
- Develop a monitoring program to track implementation and effectiveness of a variety of tools and incentives.
Provide incentives, financial and technical support to local jurisdictions that have prioritized riparian restoration. (ID #201)
Key opportunities for 2022-2026 include:
- Fund and implement technical assistance and outreach programs with riparian landowners to assist in the implementation of BMPs that will protect, restore, and enhance riparian habitat;
- Establish a riparian reserve program that provides financial incentives for all landowners to set aside and restore riparian areas important for salmon recovery;
- Provide technical support and enforcement capacity to local jurisdictions;
- Support policies that improve effectiveness and advance the intent of the GMA and SMP.
Implementation Considerations
Key opportunities for 2022-2026 to integrate human wellbeing considerations and climate change responses into efforts include:
Human Wellbeing
- Improve residents’ knowledge of and access to riparian areas to foster a sense of place and increase political will for protecting and restoring these areas.
- Connect riparian area protection and restoration to benefits for both landowners and communities.
- Offer incentives in expedited procedural frameworks to make restorative practices easier and faster for landowners.
- Increase resources and capacities of local agencies to protect and restore riparian areas.
Climate Change
- Factor future climate conditions into integrated planning processes for riparian protection and restoration projects.
- Promote riparian protection and restoration actions that also increase carbon sequestration.
- Incorporate targeted climate change education into technical and financial assistance programs for landowners.
Ongoing Programs
Ongoing programs provide regulatory oversight, technical support, implementation resources, funding, or guidance and serve as the critical foundation for Puget Sound recovery. The following is a list of example state and federal ongoing programs that help to implement this strategy. Many more local, tribal nations, and nongovernmental programs exist that support this strategy.
What We're Measuring
We are achieving our recovery goals of increasing functioning habitat, improving water quality, and maintaining thriving species and food webs in the Puget Sound region by protecting ecologically important lands from development and restoring instream and riparian areas of rivers and streams based on a statewide forested riparian area standard. Riparian landowners are implementing BMPs to protect and restore riparian habitat, and local jurisdictions are effectively implementing and enforcing the statewide standard. Indicators of success include:
Extent of forest cover in nearshore marine riparian areas
Water temperature in streams and rivers
This indicator measures the acres of floodplain habitat (freshwater floodplains, estuarine/nearshore, and riparian areas) acquired for conservation or future restoration activities. Floodplains create and support a diverse web of natural resources, recreational opportunities, and offer ecosystem benefits like floodwater storage. This indicator can help us evaluate our success accelerating the pace of habitat protection.
Acres of habitat acquisition, by habitat type, implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in state fiscal year 2011 through state fiscal year 2024.
This indicator measures acres of floodplain habitat (freshwater floodplains, estuarine/nearshore, and riparian areas) improved through restoration activities. Floodplains create and support a diverse web of natural resources, recreational opportunities, and ecosystem benefits like floodwater storage. This indicator can help us evaluate our success accelerating the pace of habitat restoration.
Acres of floodplain habitat restoration (freshwater floodplain, estuarine/nearshore, and riparian areas) implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2024.
This indicator measures acres of estuarine/nearshore floodplain habitat acquired for conservation or future restoration activities. Estuaries represent transition zones between the land and sea, supporting diverse flora, fauna, recreation opportunities, and a vibrant food web. This indicator can help us evaluate our success toward accelerating the pace of habitat protection.
Acres of estuarine/nearshore habitat acquisition implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in state fiscal year 2011 through state fiscal year 2024.
This indicator measures acres of estuarine/nearshore floodplain habitat improved through restoration activities. Estuaries represent transition zones between the land and sea, supporting diverse flora, fauna, recreation opportunities, and a vibrant food web. This indicator can help us evaluate our success toward accelerating the pace of habitat restoration.
Acres of estuarine/nearshore areas habitat restoration implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2024.
This indicator measures the percent and acreage of forested cover (vegetation approximately 8 feet or taller) within defined riparian zones landward of the marine shoreline.
No reported data available
This indicator measures the acres of riparian floodplain areas acquired for conservation or future restoration activities. Riparian areas are critical habitats that border marine and freshwater systems and keep waters clean and cool, control erosion, moderate flooding events, and offer key habitat for a diversity of wildlife. This indicator can help us evaluate our success accelerating the pace of habitat protection.
Acres of riparian habitat acquisition implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in state fiscal year 2011 through state fiscal year 2024.
This indicator measures the acres of riparian floodplain areas improved through restoration activities. Riparian areas are critical habitats that border marine and freshwater systems and keep waters clean and cool, control erosion, moderate flooding events, and offer key habitat for a great diversity of wildlife. This indicator can help us evaluate our success accelerating the pace of habitat restoration.
Acres of riparian habitat restoration implemented or in progress, including all projects that began in fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2024.
This indicator reports on field-based discrete and continuous measurements of water temperature in streams and rivers, at representative spatial and temporal scales for the Puget Sound ecosystem. The indicator will determine the frequency and extent to which temperature is above biological requirements of aquatic species for survival and recovery.
No reported data available
Legislative Actions (11 Bills)
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Mobilizing Funding
Capacity Building and Coordination
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Policy and Regulation Development
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Mobilizing Funding
Capacity Building and Coordination
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