Stream Conservation: Why?Healthy Streams for Healthy Communities: Most people understand that clean, healthy streams provide drinking water and recreation in the form of fishing, boating, and swimming; however, these are just a few of the important benefits provided by healthy stream ecosystems. The benefits of healthy streams are often taken for granted until they are gone. When streams become degraded, the equilibria (or balances) that have evolved in these systems (physical, chemical, and biological) fall out of balance - the consequences come at significant costs to society. Accordingly, many of the benefits that are provided by healthy streams tend to be recognized as costs of degraded streams. Regardless of whether these issues are discussed in terms of benefits or costs, there are clear and long-term consequences resulting from how we manage streams in our communities. Benefits of Healthy Streams:
Learn more about these benefits of healthy streams. |
