R iparian forests are undoubtedly one of the most widely studied and debated components of forest ecosystems. Hundreds of articles, dozens of books, and numerous bibliographies and reviews have been writ- ten on the ecology of riparian areas and their manage- ment (e.g., Belt et al. 1992; Castelle et al. 1992; Van 11 August 2001 • Journal of Forestry Charles R. Blinn and Michael A. Kilgore Individual states develop guidelines to protect and manage forest riparian resources. A review of 49 states’ forest riparian guidelines revealed the primary focus is to protect the quality of water adja- cent to perennial and intermittent streams and lakes. A commonly recommended riparian management zone is 50 feet wide with 50 to 75 percent crown closure (or 50–75 square feet per acre of residual basal area); however, the specific guidelines in each state vary tremendously. Although science cannot specify the manage- ment prescriptions needed to protect all riparian functions across all sites, understanding site-specific conditions is critical to effec- tive guideline implementation. Keywords: best management practices; water quality ABSTRACT Riparian Management Practices A Summary of State Guidelines Left: This synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, acquired during a 1994 mission of the space shuttle Endeavor, shows the Mississippi River along three state lines: Louisiana and Arkansas lie above the river and Mississippi is below it. The town in the upper left corner is Eudora, Arkansas, and the green regions bordering the river are undeveloped forested areas. Courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory