When cattle graze in stream corridors, their hooves exert several times greater pressure on the soil than the per square inch weight of a bulldozer. They consume or trample vegetation, eliminating the stream's natural protective blanket of vegetation and expose the soil, increasing its vulnerability to erosion. The vegetation along the stream bank is important. Another benefit of increased vegetation near streams is the regeneration of fish and wildlife habitat. Shaded streams have cool and clear water, increasing the amount and diversity of aquatic life supported by the stream.
Mature vegetation provides food, habitat, and cover for wildlife.
Keeping cattle away from the stream also may reduce problems with poor pasture use, exposure to water-transmitted diseases and algal toxins, foot rot, leg injuries, drowning, and incidence of cattle stuck in mud. Furthermore, fencing cattle away from streams prevents the animals from defecating or urinating in the stream, which reduces bacterial pollution. And fencing may help spur producers to establish a more productive rotational grazing system, or to think about using best management practices throughout their farming operation. Fencing tips Most producers already know that fencing is site-specific work and much depends on the land, resources, and livestock. Don't use woven wire around streams and creeks because it traps debris and is damaged in floods, whereas a single strand high-tensile fence is less likely to be washed out in a flood.