The development of the Waterway self assessment form, a stream management tool for landowners : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Ecology at Massey University

Abstract

Increasing environmental awareness amongst the general public and more specific user groups, such as land owners, has led to concern about the impacts of land use on specific environmental qualities such as water quality and stream biota. As a result, methods for reducing and or ameliorating these impacts have become a key area of research in freshwater ecology over the last decade (Fahey and Rowe, 1992; Hanchet, 1989; Hughes, et al., 1986; Osborne and Wiley, 1988; Quinn, et al., 1997; Watson, 1986; Wilcock, 1986; Winterbourn, 1986). The dominant focus of this research has been in riparian management (Large and Petts, 1992; Platts, et al., 1987; Quinn, et al., 1993). As many streams and rivers in New Zealand flow at some stage through pastoral land, the responsibility of managing riparian zones is largely that of the landowners. Simple tools for managing waterways and their riparian zones, which take into account the requirements of individual landowners, and also facilitate education and awareness, are now needed (Quinn and Collier, in press).