American Society of Landscape Architects ASLA 2005 Professional Awards
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Riparian and Channel Restoration, Indian Creek

Regional Geography and Discussion
Watershed Geography and Setting
Corridor, Networks, Community Watersheds
Community Watersheds
COMMUNICATIONS AWARD OF HONOR

Urban Ecology; Landscape Design Principles and Practices for Water Quality Improvement in the Lower Boise River
Ecosystem Sciences Foundation, Boise, ID


"Clarifies urban stormwater issues at so many levels . . . readable, accessible to the public . . .comprehensive examples illustrate rudimentary stormwater projects that are going on . . . integrates ideas that planning and water departments usually keep separate."

— 2005 Professional Awards Jury Comments

This manual is intended for all those who are interested in their community: citizens, developers, elected officials and those whose job it is to plan and build communities. Unlike more traditional design or engineering manuals, whose treatments of site development, environmental quality, landscape and drainage guidelines are presented separately and often in language that is exclusive to the intended audience, this manual works to keep all of the urban design pieces together. This is done to avoid the problems of disintegration; that is, when storm drainage is discussed without reference to stream habitat protection, or when land use and development is being discussed without reference to infill development or protection of environmental features. This manual reintegrates these issues for a comprehensive look at a more sustainable urban design, and improvement of environmental conditions.

The interconnected systems of water, people and development on the land must first be seen and understood as an integrated whole before citizens and their elected leaders can act intelligently to protect them. This manual is intended to assist in building this understanding.

This project is oriented toward the broad goals of improving water quality in local water bodies, and protecting open space and critical environmental features from expansive and overwhelming development, including the preservation of primary agricultural lands.

This project describes and suggests methods to improve water quality in the Boise River and its tributaries. Water quality is strongly linked to urban growth and suburban development occurring throughout the Treasure Valley in Idaho. This urban growth mirrors patterns of sprawl type development elsewhere in the west and throughout the country. As the valley landscape changes from predominantly agricultural to suburban development the impact on local streams and rivers is significant.

Instead of expending large amounts of money and resources on fixing and treating polluted water, we suggest using naturally occurring ecological processes to prevent pollution and urban runoff from occurring in the first place. The first step in eliminating pollution from all water systems throughout the valley is in understanding the watershed in which we all live, and how land and water use affect environmental condition.

It is possible to reduce and eliminate urban water pollution through effective design and planning. This document outlines the landscape design principles and solutions that work to mitigate water pollution. This document is an accumulation of landscape design solutions that have been explored through the course of this project. The designs illustrate how the principles of land and water management and sustainable design can be applied to communities and developing rural areas. The intent of the design principles is to improve water and environmental quality related to urbanized lands and new development. Many communities are required to be more responsive to stormwater management, integration of new development, and planning that is effective and site specific. The designs illustrate that while many of the principles of sustainable design can be applied anywhere, their successful application depends on a process that respects and builds upon the characteristics and context of each unique site.

The intended audience for this manual includes planners, developers, citizens, scientists, elected officials, and those whose job it is to design and build our communities.

This manual has been circulated watershed-wide. The publication is continually reprinted with over 100 hard copies distributed to date. Digital versions of the manual are available for free download to any interested parties. The number of digital distributions is not known. Both a printed version of the book and an electronic version, in .pdf format, are available and have been distributed to local officials, agencies, interested parties and stakeholders.

Riparian Corridors
Case Study Title Page
Base Map and Site Design Layers
Riparian Corridor Plan
Community Watershed Plan
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