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<br />
<br />RiDers arui floodplains provUk 7/Umrrous recrealiond.
<br />opportunitu-s-im;ludin.rt hiking, camping, hunting, ji,h-
<br />ing, boating, swimrru.'ng, bird.wall:hing, picnickin,ft, jog-
<br />ging, plwtograph)', ift skating, and simply observing
<br />nature.
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<br />Above: Buydisl, Boulder Cm:1r. Pathwa)', Boulder,
<br />Colorado.
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<br />Below. Canoer, ,Vanlllhola River, ."lort!! Carolina.
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<br />generally more biologically diverse than the surrounding uplands and encom-
<br />pass a broader range of moisture and soil conditions and a greater diversity
<br />of flora and fauna than wetlands do. The Soil Conservation Service estimates
<br />that there are 16 million acres of riparian land along streams, canals, lakes,
<br />reservoirs, and tidal shorelines of rural, nonfederal portions of the United
<br />States. Bottomland hardwood forests also are a major riparian ecosystem,
<br />and they account for about 52 million acres, mostly in the South.
<br />Healthy riparian ecosystems provide community structure for raptors,
<br />safe passage corridors to water for mammals, habitat for amphibians, and
<br />cover and nutrients for fish. At elevations below 3,500 feet, they take the form
<br />oflush strips of streamside vegetation that interrupt the desert landscape.
<br />These linear communities provide habitat for up to 80% of the \Vest's wildlife
<br />species, and are essential for maintaining its healthy fish and wildlife popula-
<br />tions. Cottonv.'Ood groves provide a high canopy and open understory essen-
<br />tial to certain birds of prey for hunting, while mesquite bosques provide lower,
<br />denser vegetation ideal for colonial nesting by white\ving doves. Also depen-
<br />dent on riparian habitats are grey squirrels, river otters, muskrats, summer
<br />tanagers, canyon frogs, tree frogs, and dove-tailed hawks.
<br />
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<br />Arid region Jloodplaim, altlwugh apparently tWolale, actual/;' provide habitat jor mosl desert wiidiifr species.
<br />Channel, flaodplm.n, arui riparian habitat, Icer,u Riur, 1on/() ,Vatlonal Forest, Arizona
<br />
<br />Cultural Resources
<br />
<br />As used in this report, the cultural resources of floodplains include their
<br />historic and archaeological sites, their scientific, recreational, and aesthetic
<br />uses, as well as the harvest of the floodplains' natural and cultivated products.
<br />Because water has always been basic to human survival, transportation, and
<br />commerce, many sites of historic and archaeological significance lie in flood-
<br />plains. Floodplains provide opportunities for hiking, camping, hunting, fish-
<br />ing, boating, swimming, bird-watching, picnicking, jogging, photography, ice
<br />skating, nature observing, as well as for scientific study and research, educa-
<br />tional activities, and less tangible aesthetic benefits. Floodplains can provide
<br />urban communities with a tremendous open-space and greenbelt resource.
<br />Inland floodplains are great sources of commercial timber. 1\.1uch of the
<br />82 million acres of commercial forested wetlands in the 49 continental states
<br />lies within floodplains. The standing value of southern wetland forests alone
<br />is $8 billion. The floodplains along larger rivers are prime agricultural lands
<br />because of their flat terrain, abundant water supplies, and rich alluvial soils
<br />periodically replenished by flooding. From 1956 to 1975 about 60% of the
<br />U.S. commercial fish and shellfish harvest was made up of wetland-dependent
<br />species. Several billion dollars are generated annually from this harvest and
<br />from wetlands-dependent sport fishing.
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