Bill Zeedyk - Zeedyk Ecological Consulting, LLC

Excerpt from Program:
"Roads alter water movement across the landscape, which can concentrate and accelerate flow and cause soil erosion and gully formation. Roads can divert surface and subsurface flows, causing affected sites to dry out and lose productivity. The very practices aimed at maintaining roads and offsetting negative effects can be extremely valuable in conserving water and using it wisely. In other words, roads can be managed as tools for saving water, improving vegetative cover and increasing forage yields while protecting valuable soils from erosion. This talk focuses on recognizing in both upland and lowland situations opportunities for harvesting runoff from roads at sites resistant to erosion and ideal for enhanced infiltration of surface runoff and percolation of water into the soil. A variety of treatments to use in both upland and lowland situations specific to different land forms will also be discussed. Wise use of runoff from roads will not only reduce soil erosion, but also enhance forage production and plant diversity, wildlife habitat and base flow of receiving water courses."