Riparian areas contain elements of aquatic (water) and terrestrial (land) ecosystems. The interactions between water and land create an environment that is critical to the survival and existence of land-based and aquatic species.

This guidance document will be a technical resource for agricultural producers that recommends best management practices (BMPs) to protect water quality. It is intended to support healthy farms while helping producers meet clean water standards.

Because water is essential to life, most settlement and human activity occurred close to water. The riparian doctrine of water law allows for the historic rea-sonable use of water on land adjacent to a water source.

The Department of Ecology's Water Resources Program maintains for the State of Washington various documents and records related to existing or requested water rights and water claims.

A goal of the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project is to protect, create and enhance wetlands and their associated riparian and flooplain habitats. This requires a coordinated effort on the part of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Basin Conservation Program participants and fish and wildlife resource managers.

Find a water right using the Water Rights Search; Find public notices and provide comments on draft and final water right decisions; Read about water right permits and how to arrange for a pre-application consultation

Resilient riparian systems improve the ability of the areas of land along the edges of rivers and streams to adjust to changes in the watershed. Healthy riparian systems have complex designs, provide shade for fish and aquatic life, and offer habitat in the water and adjacent lands.

Why are riparian areas important? Undisturbed riparian zones teem with wildlife and dense vegetation—grasses, shrubs, and larger trees like willows, cottonwoods, and conifers. They protect the adjacent water body and perform many vital functions. They stabilize shorelines—Shrubs and trees hold the soil along streams and

Recognizing the many obstacles to legislative change, our project aims to support collaborative, science-based decision-making within watersheds for water resource and biological conservation in complex social-ecological systems without new legislation.

This publication defines riparian zone as the transistional area between the water itself and the surrounding lands. If you have a stream, river, pond, lake, or wetland on your property for even part of the year, you have a riparian zone. It also explains the keys to managing riparian zones, incentives for managing riparian zones