How to Keep Your Back Yard Stream, lake or Pond and Its Environment Healthy

We all must do our part to keep our streams and the lands around them healthy and thriving. Due to stormwater runoff, streams can be subject to erosion, flooding, and pollution. There are simple ways we can minimize the effects stormwater has on our watersheds through consciousness in our own maintenance of our near-stream properties and the streams themselves.

• 1. Plant Native Plants. It is important to make sure that we not only protect and maintain the native plants on the stream but to also plant an abundance of them. We must be sure to deter any threat from a non-native or invasive species of plants that could hinder or hurt the growth of the native plants.

• 2. Create a no-mow zone. We do not want to cut down too much vegetation by the stream, so everyone should take time to create a zone near to the stream where the land will not be mowed. If your land is actually on the stream, you may even benefit from increasing the area of your garden, and maybe plant more native trees and shrubs. We do not want to mow too close to the stream because we will be eliminating native plants from near the river that help minimize the amount of stormwater that reach these streams. If you must mow the land, only cut the area to a height of 3 inches,

• 3. Controlling Animals. If you have livestock, try to limit their access to the stream by fencing them in. Also take the time to bag any waste that may come from a pet you may own as well. It is vital to keep waste from animals from being carried into the watersheds in stormwater.

• 4. Smart Yard Up-Keeping. There are simple things we can do to ensure materials from our yards do not make their way into the stream. We can avoid using pesticides in our yard and less fertilizer, so the chemicals are not carried into the streams with stormwater. We can also remember to store soil, mulch, compost, yard waste, and firewood away from stream corridors.

• 5. Managing Stormwater Ourselves. We can take our own steps in preventing an influx of stormwater into our watersheds. By installing things such as rain barrels and rain gardens, we can direct stormwater towards our own vegetated areas, rather than have it flow on a path towards a stream.

• 6. Respect the Stream. It is important to allow the stream to run its natural course. We should not encroach the area it flows through, nor dumb, dredge or backfill its channels. We can also work with our communities to create healthy stream stretches.