NCC's Active River Area for the Northern Appalachian - Acadian Region. Conserving and restoring healthy stream and river ecosystems requires an integrated approach that not only focuses on the streams and rivers themselves, but also incorporates adjacent floodplains and riparian areas and the dynamic processes that directly link the two. Examples of these natural processes include hydrologic flow regime, sediment transport, turnover of organic matter, habitat connectivity, and maintaining water quality, among others. While the type and degree of influence that these processes have on streams and rivers varies in both time and space, by spatially delineating the full range of landscape features that contribute to these processes, the ARA provides a framework for conserving and restoring the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. For more background information on the original Active River Area project, including applications and utility, please refer to The Active River Area: A Conservation Framework for Protecting Rivers and Streams (Smith et al., 2008).