What
is a Shoreline Buffer?
A shoreline buffer
is a strip of vegetation left unmowed
("natural") along your shoreline.
Many natural shoreline buffers have been
eliminated long the Lake Ontario shoreline
due to efforts by owners to prevent shoreline
erosion. In many cases the lake wins
and the shoreline is destroyed, leaving
little wildlife habitat and a highly
eroded shoreline.
What
are the Benefits of a Shoreline Buffer?
Many shoreline owners like to keep their shoreline
mowed all the way to the water for easier access.
Many owners
are unaware that they are destroying the balance
of the aquatic and shoreline ecosystems and altering
the wildlife habitat, natural beauty and character
of the shoreline.
Specific benefits of a shoreline buffer include:
- Buffers
prevent soil erosion - Native shrubs and
plants have root lengths
of 18 inches or more which help hold
the soil in place, minimizing erosion. Lawn
grass (bluegrass) is a shallow rooted
species (about 3 inches) that cannot
protect soil as well as native shrubs
and plants can.
- Buffers keep fertilizer, driveway
runoff, soils and other excess nutrients
from washing directly into the lake. When
these items enter the lake, fish spawning
beds can be destroyed, dissolved oxygen
is depleted and algae and aquatic plant
growth is encouraged. A good buffer
can remove as much as 70-95% of incoming
nutrients and other pollutants from
the runoff into the Lake.
- Trees in a buffer shade the
shoreline and cool the water. Cooler water keeps fish eggs from overheating
and reduces algae growth.
- Buffers reduce the number of
mosquitoes. Vegetated buffers
provide resting or feeding areas for
mosquito predators, such as dragonflies
and bats.
- Buffers reduce the number of
Canada Geese on your lawn. Canada
Geese are generally reluctant to walk
through tall vegetation, so developing
a shoreline buffer is a natural way
to reduce their presence on lawns.
- Buffers reduce your time spent
mowing. A shoreline buffer
needs very little care and is never
mowed. For more information on lawn
care, visit the Wildlife
Friendly Lawn Care page.
-
Buffers protect
valuable nearshore habitat. Ninety
percent of all lake life is born, raised
and fed in the area where the land and
water meet.
- Natural
shorelines are more aesthetically
pleasing.
This may be difficult to realize at first, but,
once you take a look around, you will notice how
beautiful a shoreline with trees and vegetation
is compared to a mowed shoreline with erosion problems.
How
Can You Create a Shoreline Buffer?
To create a shorelin buffer, you have two choices: a) let
the shoreline grow back naturally or b) plant
native plants. For the purposes of this
CD-Rom, we focus on the simplest
choice: letting it grow back naturally.
If you are interested in a more hands-on
approach, the sources listed at the end
of this page are a good place to start.
If you
have a sand dune or a bluff along your
shoreline, the plants you use and how
you control erosion on your property
will require special attention. Visit
the Dunes
and Bluffs page for more information.
Steps
for creating a shoreline buffer
the easy way:
Measure
a distance of at least
25 feet from the water's edge
all along your shoreline. Use
string or signs to mark off this
area. You may want to start with
a small area of shoreline,
but eventually you will want
to have at least 50-75% of your
shoreline buffered.
- Do nothing!
Just let the area regenerate.
This means no mowing, spraying
or fertilizing!
- Be patient!
In the first year your buffer
will probably look like a messy,
unkempt area. By year two,
you should have shrubs and trees
starting to grow. Then wildlife
will start to appear.
- Correctly place a
pathway . If you need
to clear a path to the lake through the buffer
for recreational purposes, clear
the plants at an angle so that
the plants remaining will help
break the waves coming into the
shoreline.
-
The lake's
nearshore area is also an important
part of your buffer. Consider
protecting and regenerating the
nearshore area into the water
as far as plants will grow. The sources listed below provide specific information about regenerating nearshore areas.
Remember -
never mow the grass or spray the
buffer area with pesticides or herbicides.
You can kill noxious plants by covering
them with six inches of hay. You
should pull out non-native
burdock and purple loosestrife before
they begin to seed.
Top
Sources:
Your Guide to Shoreline
Restoration. The M.A.P.L.E. 10 Program,
M. A. P. L. E. Inc., Ontario. Pamphlet.
1999.
Lakescaping for Wildlife & Water
Quality, by Carrol L. Henderson,
Carolyn J. Dindorf, and Fred J. Rozumalski.
St. Paul, MN: Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources,
Section of Wildlife, Nongame Wildlife
Program. 1998.
Preserving and Restoring
Natural Shorelines. Extension
Notes, Ministry of Natural Resources,
Ontario, AGDEX 570. 1994.
Our Lake Book, Lake
George Association. 1998.
