They can convert runoff to storage in wetlands or percolate water into soil and bedrock reducing, for free, peak flood damage and flows. Stable watersheds are the ultimate production systems for all animals, their food and shelter. They are the most logical geographic unity for ecosystem management. They are the local green machines of photosynthesis. They prosper when the drainage net, channel, and hillslopes detain water and encourage growth.
Green growth is a basic production, ultimately more important than industrial production.
In short, drainage nets etch an equilibrium pattern into the watershed s surface. The drainage net balances channel size and shape with hillslope runoff. Upsetting this balance by paving, channelization, earth moving, and excessive streamflow diversions upsets the balance and leads to huge maintenance or techno-fix costs and reductions in beauty. Love and work with your watershed s drainage net, respect its resilient peaks, and cherish its living creatures. Reverence and restorative economics can be the river s voice.