Red River Riparian Project
What is a Riparian Area? | Project Work Area | Land Owner Assistance | Goals | Glossary Links | Highlights | Contact
High Priority Watersheds in the Lower Red River Basin
The Red River Regional Council (RRRC) sponsors the overall watershed project in response to reports of degraded water quality and aquatic habitat in the Red River Watershed. The Red River Regional Council works closely with the Red River Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Committee which serves as a subcommittee for riparian project oversight.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that nearly 300,000 miles of rivers and streams in 49 of 50
states are identified as impaired for one or more uses. In 1998, EPA reported that nonpoint source pollution was
considered to be the leading cause of impairment with 60% of streams and rivers impaired by agriculture.
Furthermore, EPA findings indicate the leading pollutants of surface waters include sedimentation (siltation),
pathogens, and nutrients. Throughout the assessed watersheds, 70%-90% of natural riparian ecosystems were
found to be degraded or missing entirely because of human activities.
Riparian buffers in eastern North Dakota currently comprise a small part of the overall
watershed areas, and the project sponsors believe that existing forest buffers strategically located along
major rivers, streams, and drainage systems could be increased through proper management procedures and selected
riparian vegetation plantings.
Recent research has established that healthy riparian corridors provide significant benefits to a watershed including:
- Filter and store sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and metals from upland surface and groundwater through infiltration, uptake, and transformation.
- Control the hydrodynamic interaction of the stream with the adjacent uplands, stabilizing stream banks, moderating flood discharges, and improving groundwater recharge.
- Support high biological diversity and productivity of vegetation, mammals, birds, and fish.
The Riparian Project works to influence land management choices and increase local resource managers',
landowners', and general public awareness about the importance of riparian areas to the health of our river
system. This is accomplished through the establishment of demonstration sites, hosting workshops and
training sessions, publishing articles, and leading tours of project sites. As a Riparian Project partner,
the North Dakota Forest Service (NDFS) hosts landowner information meetings along priority reaches to increase
awareness and interest. In cooperation with NRCS EQIP program, the project purchased a stream table that is
presented at schools, eco-education camps, conferences, and agricultural shows throughout the Red River
Basin and North Dakota.
The North Dakota Unified Water Assessment for 1999 listed 3000 miles of rivers and streams as partially
supporting aquatic life and anther 7400 miles as fully supporting, but threatened. Fifty percent of the
watersheds within the North Dakota portion of the Red River Basin are categorized as needing restoration. The
major stressor for these affected basins is listed as agriculture with includes impacts from nutrient
and sediment runoff.
Healthy riparian corridors provide significant benefits to a watershed. These vegetated zones filter and
store sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and metals through the processes of infiltration, filtering, uptake,
and transformation
The Red River Basin Riparian Project goal is to directly assist and educate landowners about the restoration, protection, and effective management of riparian areas within the Red River Basin. This assistance will result in long-term measurable improvements in the ecological/ecosystem health of the river system.