Wise Willows Traditional Cache
MRWatershedCouncil: This cache no longer exist
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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Wise Willows
An easy cache close to a popular canoe and recreation site. Note the canoe entry sign!
Wise Willows
Maintaining and improving streambank stability is perhaps the biggest challenge posed to landowners and land managers along the Milk River (MRWCC 2008). Riparian areas are unique environments that can help to maintain streambanks.
Riparian areas are the portions of the landscape that are strongly influenced by water and are characterized by water-loving vegetation along rivers, streams, lakes springs, ponds and seeps. Water-loving vegetation includes woody vegetation, such as willows and cottonwood trees, and plants such as rushes, sedges and cattails. Healthy riparian areas provide many functions in the landscape. They provide habitat for fish and wildlife, filter surface water runoff to help maintain good water quality, store water during periods of flood and provide forage and shelter for livestock. To be healthy, a riparian area should have the following characteristics:
• Soil is covered by dense vegetation
• No invasive weeds are present
• Preferred trees and shrubs are present
• An appropriate amount of vegetation is browsed (by wildlife and livestock) that allows the plant to regenerate
• Less than 5% of wood is dead
• Stable streambanks are held together by deep-rooted vegetation
• Few areas of bare ground
• Few areas that have been altered by human activity
• A floodplain that is still accessible to flood water
Preferred trees and shrubs are part of a healthy riparian area and provide protection in a variety of ways. Deep roots found on willow and cottonwood trees act like “rebar” and hold the soil together. The woody plant canopies shade the banks, helping reduce evaporation and give shelter to wildlife. Shade is also used by campers and others recreating on the Milk River. When a riparian area is unhealthy, it can be due to natural or human caused disturbances such as development, recreation, grazing, unnatural flows or fire.
Look around this cache site and try to guess the health of this area. For more information on riparian health in the Milk River watershed, go to www.milkriverwatershedcouncil.ca, Projects Page, State of the Watershed Report Part 3, Section 5.4.
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