Riparian Forest Buffers

We establish riparian forest buffers — managed strips of trees, shrubs, and native vegetation planted along streams, rivers, and waterways — to protect water quality, reduce erosion, provide wildlife habitat, and meet conservation program requirements on agricultural and rural properties.

Riparian forest buffers are multi-layer plantings of trees, shrubs, and ground cover established along waterways to serve as a living filter between agricultural land and streams, rivers, ditches, and irrigation canals. Unlike simple grass buffers, riparian forest buffers include a canopy layer of native hardwoods and conifers, an understory of shrubs, and a ground layer of native grasses and forbs — creating a diverse, self-sustaining ecosystem that stabilizes streambanks, filters sediment and nutrients from runoff, shades waterways to reduce temperature, and provides critical habitat corridors for fish and wildlife. Our crew handles the full installation: site assessment, coordination with conservation districts and agencies, invasive species removal, soil preparation, planting of site-appropriate native species selected for Eastern Washington conditions, temporary irrigation setup, and follow-up maintenance to ensure establishment. Riparian forest buffers are recognized as one of the most effective USDA NRCS conservation practices and may qualify for cost-share funding through programs like CRP, CREP, and EQIP.