After evaluating remote sensing and existing methods, NRCS developed a Riparian Forest Area Inventory Guide that is uniquely suited to inventorying existing forested riparian areas.

Presentation Description - Water Resources Category or Forest Systems Working Group or Technical Session on Riparian Buffers (Charles Barden)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has always been active in assisting non-industrial private landowners with the inventorying and management of their property. We also work at the community level in watershed conservation planning. The close mix of urban/suburban/rural forested, privately owned, land typical of the New England region poses difficult challenges for inventorying and managing the riparian zones at the wildland-urban interface. This interface has a major interest by the general public, but people are not aware of the uniqueness of riparian areas. After evaluating remote sensing and existing methods, NRCS developed a Riparian Forest Area Inventory Guide that is uniquely suited to inventorying existing forested riparian areas. The method was developed for use when assisting nonprofessionals, especially volunteer landowner groups, working within a watershed coalition. It can also be used by foresters in the field to quickly inventory the functional limits of the riparian zone. The Guide incorporates socioeconomic information, geographic and landuse/ ownership changeability, along with the potential for positive impacts on forested riparian ecosystems. On going testing of the guide/worksheets in Massachusetts on the Sawmill River and Salmon Brook are highlighted. The Guide can be used by the field forester or local group to describe the riparian zones and, not only does the fieldwork get completed, the local people who live and work in these areas have a chance to become involved. They also learn more about forested riparian zones, which is essential for the appropriate management of the resource in the wildland-urban interface.