Report calls for riparian protection

A 22 March report by The (U.S.) National Academies calls for the protection and restoration of riparian areas in the United States. However, it concedes that key difficulties in this endeavor include the lack of basic information about the extent and ecological health of these areas, and even a precise ecological definition of what a riparian area is. The report, “Riparian Areas: Functions and Strategies for Management” prepared by the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council, states that “restoration of riparian functions along America's water bodies should be a national goal.”