The vegetated area of land adjacent to lakes and rivers is often
referred to as a shoreland or riparian buffer zone. This land
serves as a bridge between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and
performs many important functions. Studies performed by scientists
and conservation groups across the country have shown that these
vegetated areas protect water quality, serve as wildlife habitat and
corridors and provide valuable social functions. These attributes take
on greater importance as lakeshore and riverfront development increases.
Increasingly, State and local ordinances are requiring that these
vegetated tracts of land be preserved or restored with appropriate
native vegetation.
As these governmental units design ordinances, the question of how
wide riparian buffer zones should be often arises. There is no one
answer to this question though. The Wisconsin Shoreland Management
Program (WDNR Chapter NR 115), defines what they call a
'vegetative protection area' from the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM)
extending inland 35 feet. Some counties, however, have passed
shoreland zoning ordinances that require shoreland buffer zones wider
than this. Examining the question from a different perspective, the
effective width of a buffer zone is dependent upon the functions one is
trying achieve. For example, to optimize wildlife habitat, studies
have found that at least 300 foot wide vegetated areas are needed.
In contrast, much smaller vegetated strips can be used to significantly
reduce sedimentation into lakes and streams, protecting water quality.
The links below will take you through a discussion of several important functions that vegetated
riparian buffer zones serve. Included in the discussions are
studies examining effective widths to achieve these goals.
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