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SECTION 2 - HUMAN ACTIVITIES THAT ALTER STREAM CORRIDORS Agriculture and Grazing Forty-eight percent of Colorado's sixty-six million acres is agricultural land in cropland, pastureland, and rangeland, owned and managed by farmers and ranchers and their families. We rely on these fellow citizens and neighbors to produce the food and fiber we need at reasonable prices. These lands, when properly managed, provide clean water, wildlife habitat, healthy watersheds, and riparian areas. However, poorly managed livestock grazing or improper agricultural practices can degrade stream corridors. How Agriculture and Grazing Impacts Stream Corridors The conversion of undisturbed land to agricultural production has often disrupted the previously existing state of equilibrium. Agricultural activities have generally resulted in encroachment on stream corridors with significant changes to the structure and function usually found in stable systems. Agricultural/Grazing impacts to stream corridors • Removal of native, riparian, and • Irrigation and drainage (diverting surface upland vegetative cover waters and depleting aquifers) • Flood control structures and channel • Sediment and contaminants modifications (straightening streams • Soil compaction and changing flow patterns) • Stream bank erosion • Soil exposure and compaction Lessening Our Negative Impact • Conservation tillage • Contour farming • Crop residue management • Installing buffers and filter strips • Fertilizer and pesticide management • Grazing management (including fencing and livestock exclusion) • Irrigation water management 0 c? . 23 Big Dry Creek in Douglas County Riverbank revegetation project on an old livestock weaning area along the Yampa River