Catskill Streams

Stewardship: Instream

The purpose of this page is to discuss common practices that people undertake in streams and their effects on the stream system. Please view our Principles of Stream Stewardship to read about the concepts we recommend keeping in mind prior to undertaking a stream project. Additionally, you will also find alternative stream restoration solutions to traditional bank hardening techniques, contact information for assistance and brief information about what people can and can’t do in Catskill streams.

Learn how these activities affect streams

Click on the photos below to learn more about how certain stream management activities affect stream processes and functions:

Often have
negative
results on
stream if used
without great
caution. –
Limit use to
critical areas
Concrete or Sheet Piling Gravel Bar Removal Channelizing
Can have
positive
results on
stream if used
with some
caution.
Riprap or Rock Walls Gravel Management Setback Berming
Often have
positive
results on
stream if
applied
correctly (can
have negative
results if
used without
caution)
Bioengineering Cross Vanes Re-Creating Meander Geometry

Links and Resources

Click on the links below for more information:

> Cornell Local Roads Program
>

EM River Video Clips
Emriver armored meanders
Straightened channel evolving to meandering channel

> Landowner’s Guide to Managing Streams in the Eastern United States by Virginia Cooperative Extension
> NYS Department of Environmental Conservation: Protection of Waters: Disturbance of The Bed or Banks of a Protected Stream or Other Watercourse
> State of Ohio Division of Water, Stream Management Guides
> Stream Corridor Restoration by the Federal Interagency Stream Corridor Restoration Working Group
> US Army Corps of Engineers – Environmental Laboratory
This website includes several references to ecosystem management and restoration and stream restoration.
> Vermont Agency for Natural Resources: River Corridor Protection & Restoration
> Cornell Restoration Guidance
> Fluvial Geomorphology Annotated Bibliography
>

River Gravel Excavation

> North Carolina Stream Restoration Program
> USDA Rocky Mountain Research Station - Stream Channel Reference Sites (4 MB)
> Catskill Regional Hydraulic Geometry Curves
> Maintaining Wood in Streams: A Vital Action for Fish Conservation by the University of California (1.6 MB)
> Stream Crossing Information
For more information, e-mail info@catskillstreams.org · Jenn Grieser, Public Liaison, Riparian Buffer Working Group
71 Smith Ave., Kingston, NY 12401 · phone: (845) 340-7852· fax: (845) 338-1296

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