Improving Streamside Wildlife Habitats
(excerpt from Habitat Extension Bulletin distributed by the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
Riparian vegetation [the green band of vegetation along a watercourse] can help stabilize stream banks; filter
sediment
from surface runoff; and provide wildlife habitat, livestock forage, and scenic value. Well-developed
vegetation also allows bank soils to absorb extra water during spring runoff, releasing it later during drier
months, thus improving late-summer stream flows.
In many
parts of the arid West, trees and shrubs are found only in riparian areas. Woody plants are very
important as winter cover for many wildlife species, including upland game
birds such as pheasants and
turkeys. Often this winter cover is the greatest single factor limiting game bird populations. Woody vegetation
also provides hiding cover and browse for many other species of birds and mammals, both game and nongame.
Dead trees (“snags”) are an integral part of streamside habitats and should be
left standing whenever pos-
sible. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, brown creepers, and other birds eat the insects that decompose the wood. These
insects usually pose no threat to nearby living trees. Occasionally a disease organism or misuse of pesticides will
weaken or kill a stand of trees. If several trees
in a small area begin to die, contact your local extension agent
immediately.
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