Streamside forests are vital to protecting the health of our streams and the wildlife that depend on them. Let’s work together so we can continue to benefit from fishing, hunting, swimming, hiking, wildlife viewing, and recreating in our waterways!

Bare patches of soil, exposed rocks and roots, and crumbling banks are all signs of soil erosion. While erosion is a process that occurs naturally over time, our actions can accelerate it, or help slow it down. By planting a mixture of the native trees and shrubs listed below, you can help anchor and hold soil in place while also creating habitat, protecting water quality, and building soil health.

If you have spent years living near a stream or river, you know that the channel doesn’t stay put. Rivers and streams are dynamic – “healthy” streams are a constantly changing system. Streams are rarely naturally straight; rather, they wind their way through the landscape, meandering back and forth. Bank erosion, where the soil along a stream or river is washed away, is a natural process and is important for creating and maintaining habitat for salmon and other fish and wildlife.

Do you have a wet area in your yard?  These areas are called wetlands and provide places for many different kinds of wildlife to find food, water, nesting areas, and places to hide. Wetlands also soak in stormwater to filter and release it slowly, reducing flooding and pollution that makes it into the Puget Sound.

Salmonberry / Photo credit: Cindy Martin

The mention of beavers usually elicits strong reactions from landowners. Some live next to a lake created by a beaver dam and want to make sure beavers maintain their dam and keep the lake’s water level consistent.   Others are concerned about downed trees and flooded yards or fields. The truth is that beavers provide many benefits to our landscape, but at times, they can also create situations we’re not willing to live with.
 

Most people have some sense of the value and/or limits of having a wetland on their property, but it’s not always easy to explain why wetlands have value or where the line is between wetland and upland.

The key words are water, soil, and vegetation. A simple way to define it is that wetlands are areas that are wet enough—long enough and often enough—to support plants that thrive in wet soils. How wet that actually is can be very different from wetland to wetland, and what the soils and vegetation look like as a result can also vary a lot.

There’s a lot to know about owning and managing land. This booklet will give you lots of information and ideas for a place that you can be proud to own. We’re all part of a watershed and our actions can affect others. The things that you and your neighbors do can greatly improve the health of the resources we all appreciate about Puget Sound.