The challenge of managing for healthy riparian areas

Clearly, Aldo Leopold, a forest ranger, a wildlife biologist, a director of wood-use research, and a small woodland owner, called those in natural resource management to do two things: read the land and manage it “. . . I have no fear ,of what you will do for it.” Thirty-one years later, Luna Leopold, Chief Hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Dean of Geology at The University of California-Berkley, and river restoration advocate, emulated his father’s “Round River” when he called us to recognize the interdependence of land, water, air, and all creatures. Neither rejected their past, and neither rejected the many uses nor many users of our forest lands. Aldo Leopold worked to restore his cut-over and worked-out Sand County farm and woodland to take a productive place in their Wisconsin community. At the heart of managing for healthy riparian areas is seeing them with this same sense of community. A central challenge to many of us is managing with shared decisions. This may be the hardest task we have. To paraphrase Gifford Pinch&, first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service and Dean of the Yale School of Forestry, be absolutely honest and sincere, learn to recognize the point of view of the other person, and meet each other with arguments you will each understand. The challenge of managing for healthy riparian areas means coming to grips with our heritage, understanding how the land and streams change, dealing with diverse and divisive