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Increasing Riparian Forest Buffers: From Idea To Implementation In Maryland |
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| Anne Hairston-Strang | |||
| Session: 2:30 PM April 16, 2000 | Author Info | ||
Stream ReLeaf is Maryland's effort to encourage, coordinate, track, and monitor establishment of riparian forest buffers, valued for their ability to filter out pollutants and provide streamside habitat. Concentrated efforts on expanding forest buffers in Maryland grew from the desire to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Forest buffers were chosen as a desirable approach they can improve water quality at substantially less cost than other alternatives such as retrofitting stormwater management or providing structural shore erosion control. Buffers can do this because they are located in a crucial position in the landscape, in the streamside zones that serve as source areas for water supply.
Stream ReLeaf and forest conservation are part of the policy landscape for restoring water quality, wildlife habitat, and livable communities. Rural Legacy and Green Infrastructure are two of Maryland's five approaches to implementing Smart Growth. Rural Legacy and Forest Legacy (previous presentation) acquire easements to protect the rural landscape. Green Infrastructure is a landscape level analysis of "hubs" of important or sensitive resources and the best way to create "corridors" to connect hubs, considering land characteristics, use and ownership. These approaches will help protect stream corridors and restoring forests and buffers can help improve resource conditions where needed on the targeted lands. Maryland is using its Clean Water Action Plan to prioritize watershed restoration efforts. Buffers and afforestation are important components in restoring these areas. Voluntary efforts like Stream ReLeaf and Forest Legacy augment the resource protection provided during development by a suite of regulations. The previous presentation showed how the Forest Conservation Act conserved forest, particularly in sensitive and streamside areas. Sediment and erosion control is used to avoid polluting waterways. Stormwater management mitigates flooding from increased runoff, and Maryland is rewriting rules to include some measures to protect the smaller flows that play a large role in forming stream channels to avoid widespread stream channel erosion. Nontidal wetlands are also protected by state law. Forest conservation helps support and benefits from all of these resource protection programs to create our ultimate goal of healthy and livable landscapes.
POLICY IDEA FOR BUFFERS
Stream ReLeaf evolved from the Riparian Forest Buffer Initiative of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP). The CBP was formed in 1983 as a collaboration of state, federal, and nonprofit partners, an approach seen as necessary to spur progress in restoring the Chesapeake Bay throughout its watershed. The effort is led by the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council, comprised of governors of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, mayor of DC and head of EPA. This effort laid the groundwork for developing political consensus.
Quantitative goals were adopted in 1987, when the CBP Executive Council committed to 40% nutrient reduction in the Chesapeake Bay by 2000, based on an estimate that such an improvement in water quality would result in improved populations of aquatic resources such as fish, oysters, and submerged aquatic vegetation. This commitment generated the incentive for agencies to aggressively pursue solutions, one of which was riparian forest buffers.
Starting in 1994, the CBP supported efforts to develop a scientific consensus of the functions of riparian buffers (forest and grass) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including a summary of relevant research. A panel of stakeholders studied the issues and prepared a technical document including summaries of ecological functions, economic costs and benefits, social considerations, and cost-share programs. The panel drafted language with approaches and goals for a Baywide Riparian Forest Buffer Initiative, adopted in 1996 by the Executive Council. The agreement committed the signatories to the following goals:
Each state and federal agency developed a plan to implement the recommendations and carry out how they would reach their commitment. Maryland's Stream ReLeaf Implementation Plan is organized into five elements: Restoration, Conservation, Incentives, Outreach, and Coordination. Each element is broken down into goals, with each goal supported by several objectives and a table of suggested actions with a 5-year timetable of implementation.
The biggest focus has been on restoration of buffers. Maryland has planted over 209 miles of forest buffers from 1996 to 1999, reaching a third of the 14-year goal in only three years. This progress has been supported by a variety of new incentives, commitment of technical staff, and some tools developing for targeting and tracking.
Identifying areas with the greatest benefits for improving water quality was attempted using a GIS analysis. Watershed nutrient loading, stream size, land use, and forest cover layers were overlaid to reveal small unforested streams with high nutrient loads where buffers could be expected to have the greatest impact. Links to tax map overlays aid in outreach to find landowners willing to create buffers on their property. Locations and characteristics of buffers are recorded in a database, which also can be linked to the ArcView-based GIS. Tracking of areas being conserved through programs such as Forest Conservation Act is being organized now.
One technical limitation to the dramatic increase in buffer planting has been the demand for bare-root seedlings of native hardwood species. Seedlings are the most cost-effective way to establish forests for the majority of buffers. The State Nursery has quadrupled production and refined techniques for growing native hardwoods. The last two summers have been very dry, creating challenging conditions for survival. Through a USDA Forest Service grant, DNR is able to conduct detailed monitoring of tree survival. The pilot study in two watersheds last summer found over 80% of the sites exceeded minimum standards of 200 trees/acre. However, mortality of the planted trees was higher than desired, with only 50% survival, doubtless influenced by the droughts. Counting trees that regenerated naturally brought the stocking level up to 72% of that originally planted. Natural regeneration can play a significant role, although some species such as oaks are not well represented. Weeds were found to be the greatest mortality factor in these watersheds, with deer damage the second most common.
Several efforts to further expand buffer planting are being planned. A landscape-scale effort is the Strategic Forest Land Assessment, using the Green Infrastructure approach of identifying key lands for restoration and conservation. It will add economic information to identify areas important in maintaining a rural forest-based economy as well as providing environmental benefits. Buffers will be one part of that analysis. Reservoir watersheds will received focused analysis and targeting for buffer restoration and conservation because of the vital interest in maintaining drinking water quality. Survival monitoring will be conducted statewide this summer, building on experience from the pilot study. Monitoring is being expanded in a pilot watershed to determine baseline conditions of the new buffers, necessary information for being able to measure changes of time and effectiveness in developing the desired functions.
WAYS TO PAY FOR IT
Stream ReLeaf uses a wide variety of programs and means to pay for creating buffers. It takes advantage of regulatory programs such as Forest Conservation Act and Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law, where upland clearing may have generated fees-in-lieu. Not all jurisdictions have or use fee-in-lieu programs. They can be particularly helpful in planting areas where larger, containerized trees are desired, such as parks or small lots, where lawnmowers are the greatest mortality factor.
New incentives have been developed. Maryland was the first state to have the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, with augmented payments for establishing tree or grass buffers and wetlands. The program pays rental rates to farm owners for 10 to 15 years to compensate for opportunity cost and through a mixture of fund sources covers most if not all of establishment expenses. Permanent easements can also be purchased, funded by the State and aided by local land trusts.
Other incentive programs are also available, such as the State-funded Buffer Incentive Program for any landowner planting an acre or more of buffer. Volunteer plantings by schools or civic groups are often supported by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, supported by our Chesapeake Bay license plate. Grant funding is used for developing some of the technical tools, such as USDA Forest Service funding for the GIS targeting system and survival monitoring, and focusing restoration in areas with great need, such as an EPA grant for the Anacostia Watershed near Washington DC.
PARTNERSHIPS
Much of our success and some of our challenges are attributable to the array of partners participating in Stream ReLeaf. People are interested in buffers for a variety of reasons, and popularity seems only to be growing. A variety of state and federal agencies are actively involved, often motivated by goals for water quality and habitat. Maryland Department of Natural Resources is a leading player, especially for technical assistance in planting, but Stream ReLeaf is a collaborative effort. Departments of Agriculture and Environment are mainstays, as are support from the US Department of Agriculture (Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service), Interior (US Fish and Wildlife Service) and Environmental Protection Agency. A number of counties and municipalities have active programs or growing interest in reforestation and stream restoration. Nonprofit organization are important partners. The Stream ReLeaf name is used with permission of American Forests, based on their Global ReLeaf initiative. They've helped with outreach and offer their own grant program for afforestation. Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Ducks Unlimited help fund the reimbursement of planting costs for CREP participants, and work with volunteers and landowners to plant buffers. Future Harvest Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture is helping with outreach for CREP, including direct mailing and media coverage, a corporate campaign, and toll-free number. There are many more adding their talents and interests to help create and protect forest buffers.
PROBLEMS, POTENTIAL, AND PAYOFFS
Whether you call them problems or challenges, there are several areas that have and will continue to constrain our ability to increase buffers in the landscape. We use a lot of creative financing and multiple fund sources to plant the buffers. A substantial investment has been made in new incentives for landowners. However, support for technical assistance to design buffers that will thrive and survive has expanded little. Legislators are willing to make a limited time investment directed at landowners, but not to expand the staff needed for successful projects, which politically is often harder to cut back later. The many partners that enrich the scope and depth of efforts also make coordination a continual process. Coordination costs too, and is almost never separately funded or given a priority focus. Dry springs and summers have made survival difficult the past couple years, and are likely to be part of the picture over the next decade too. Keeping up with maintenance that is so important for the first few years becomes more of a challenge as the pool of buffers keeps expanding.
Buffers and afforestation offer a cost-effective means to achieve a range of environmental benefits to most any region. Elements that seem to have been important in Maryland's success have been developing the political will, aided by the Chesapeake Bay Program, and enjoying strong commitment from the top of state government, seen in Governor Glendening's adoption of the 600-mile goal. Partnerships really are needed to make a broad-based program with public visibility. A core of technical expertise on restoring buffers is a real necessity, since riparian areas can have unique and challenging conditions for afforestation. Maryland DNR Forest Service had been planting buffers for more than 10 years prior to Stream ReLeaf, experience that facilitated rapid expansion. We continue to learn and improve techniques.
I'd like to close with a reminder of why we work so hard to do programs
like Stream ReLeaf, Forest Legacy, and the Forest Conservation Act. Buffers
and forests provide water quality, habitat for fish and wildlife, bank
stabilization and healthy stream corridors, and aesthetics. Forests in
communities can reduce cooling costs, stormwater runoff, and air pollution.
Buffers provide a lot of benefits in a strategic small area, and forests
in general are one of the least polluting land uses. Afforestation is within
the means of many people, from volunteers planting a few trees in a park
to a large landowner selling a permanent easements and planting a couple
hundred acres. Forest conservation is relevant to a wide variety of public
goals, key elements in Smart Growth and watershed restoration. Buffers
and forests in general can be part of the pound of cure for some of our
degraded areas. However, maintaining forests in and around our communities
is one of the best ounces of prevention in keeping a livable landscape
for our future and should be part of any land use planning effort.
Copyright 2000 By Author
Anne Hairston-Strang
MD DNR Forest Service
580 Taylor Ave E-1
Annapolis,MD 21401
(410)260-8509
astrang@dnr.state.md.us