A 10-year riparian grazing study was conducted on Stanley Creek, approximately 6 km northwest of Stanley, Idaho (Lat 44°15’46â€Â, Long 114°59’02â€Â). The area has had a long history of extensive grazing (65% use) and mining activities prior to the study. During this study, the riparian area was grazed in late June with cow/calf pairs and received three utilization treatments: medium (50%), light (25%), and control (0%). Stocking rate was adjusted so that all treatments were grazed for approximately the same amount of time (14 days). Observations were grouped to fit into one of three categories: stream, riparian, and dry meadow. Plant canopy cover and percent utilization were visually estimated, and stubble height measured annually, immediately after grazing. Plant attributes and 31 channel cross-sections were measured four different times over the course of the study, with final measurements occurring the year after grazing ended. Cross-sectional measurements examined wetted width, average wetted depth, bank stability, bank alteration, channel bottom embeddedness, and channel bottom textural composition.
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