Verge Vegetation What to look for Temporary or

Verge Vegetation What to look for: • Temporary or permanent disturbances – Hiking trails – Bare spots – Anywhere that should have vegetation and does not • Holes in the canopy

Verge Vegetation

Bank Vegetation What to look for: • Is there vegetation on the bank? • Should there be? • Is the vegetation being disturbed? – Foot traffic? – High water? – Other disturbances?

Bank Vegetation

% Bare Soil On Bank What to look for: • In 10 m, what percent of your bank is just exposed soil? – Rocks? – Vegetation?

% Bare Soil on Bank

Bank Erosion What to look for: • Undercutting – where the rapid flow of water carries soil from the bottom of the bank, causing the top to overhang the water and become unstable. • Undercutting = Bank Failure = Greater Sedimentation

Bank Erosion

Bank Slumping and Movement What to look for: • Parts of verge that have collapsed onto bank – Trees leaning towards water with exposed root systems – Verge melting like ice cream onto bank

Bank Slumping and Movement

Bends and Riffles What to look for: • Count riffles and bends in your 10 m • If no more than one or two, expand count to 50 m • Snags

Bends and Riffles

Aquatic Vegetation What to look for: • Some aquatic vegetation that is not hindering flow of stream • No vegetation = bad • Too much = bad

Aquatic Vegetation

Sediment Deposition What to look for: • Look at stream bottom, do you see: – Color and shape of rocks? – Shape of rocks? – Everything covered in sand, many bars? – Mudflats?

Sediment Deposition