A riparian area is the green zone around the surface water of a stream, river, wetland, or lake. It is the transitional area from the water’s edge to the upland habitat.
A healthy riparian area generally has abundant vegetation including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous cover; formed as a result of water, soil, and vegetation interacting with one
another.
Riparian areas are an essential part of the watershed that play an important role in maintaining its health.
A Few Key Functions Are:
Trapping & Storing Sediments
Building & Maintaining Banks
Storing Water & Energy
Recharging Aquifers
Buffering & Filtering Water
Reducing & Dispersing Energy
Acting as Animal Travel Corridors
Acting as an important growing medium for many Traditional Indigenous medicines.
Intactness Assessments
In 2021, LICA was a recipient of Watershed Restoration and Resiliency Program funding through the Government of Alberta. This enabled LICA to contract Fiera Biological Consulting Ltd., to conduct large-scale riparian intactness assessments of two HUC6 sub-watersheds within the Beaver River watershed. Riparian vegetation intactness was assessed along the shoreline of interest using a desktop-based assessment tool that utilizes a current land cover layer derived from satellite imagery. As a result of this project, 60 creeks/rivers and 124 lakes were assessed. The distance of riparian areas assessed and intactness levels for each are summarized in the table below. Click the links below to access each summary report and to refer to the intactness of specific areas of interest!
The map below highlights the areas of the Beaver River watershed that have been assessed to date by Fiera Biological Consulting Ltd.
| Distance of Riparian Area Assessed | Intactness Level |
| 2,630 km | High |
| 326 km | Moderate |
| 205 km | Low |
| 331 km | Very Low |
Health Inventories
In 2021, LICA contracted Cows & Fish to conduct Riparian Health Inventories at two sites around Jessie Lake. A Riparian Health Inventory is a tool designed to help evaluate and understand the health of riparian areas within your landholdings. These assessments were completed to assess riparian health following tree planting that LICA funded in 2020 along the riparian area and walking trail of Jessie Lake.
In 2022, LICA completed a field assessment to report on the seedling establishment and restoration success along the Jesse Lake trail. Click the link below to view the field report.
Let Plants Clean our Water…
Lawns absorb less rainfall than natural areas that have multiple layers of vegetation like mature trees, an understory of shrubs and younger tress, and herbaceous ground cover. Adding layers of vegetation helps reduce runoff, and the native plants help filter pollutants out of the water!
Riparian plants that thrive near water attract wildlife, protect the shoreline and are the ‘glue’ that binds the shoreline together. Sedges are grass-like plants with deep root systems that help stabilize banks. Shrubs like native Willow species, stabilize the shoreline and provide wildlife habitat. Cattails help purify water by removing nutrients and trapping sediment. Rushes are leafless with round stems, providing a critical nesting habitat for marsh birds.
If you have a riparian area on your property that you would like to enhance, conserve, or restore, consider joining LICA’s Riparian Health Campaign! Those who sign up for this campaign are committing to helping improve riparian areas within the Beaver River watershed!
