Watershed Condition Frameworks

A framework to assess watersheds and identify and prioritize watershed scale restorations on the

Tongass National Forest

What are Prince of Wales watershed needs??

Gather existing information on Watershed Condition (scientific and local)

What are our gaps? Social Factors & Local Concerns?

Develop watershed assessments to identify projects that will reach our desired future condition

Complete project monitoring & adaptive management

Watershed Condition

Watershed condition is the state of the physical and biological characteristics and processes within a watershed that affect hydrologic and soil functions effecting aquatic ecosystems. Watershed condition reflects a range of variability from natural pristine (functioning properly) to degraded (severely altered state or impaired).

Watersheds that are functioning properly have:

Terrestrial, riparian, aquatic ecosystems that capture, store, and release water, sediment, wood, and nutrients within their natural range of variability for these processes

Create and sustain functional terrestrial, riparian, aquatic and wetland habitats that are capable of supporting diverse populations of native aquatic and riparian-dependent species

Watersheds that are functioning properly:

Provide for high biotic integrity, which includes habitats that support adaptive animal and plant communities that reflect natural processes.

Are resilient and recover rapidly from natural and human disturbances.

Exhibit a high degree of connectivity longitudinally along the stream, laterally across the floodplain and valley bottom, and vertically between surface and subsurface flows.

Provide important ecosystem services, such as high-water quality, the recharge of streams and aquifers, the maintenance of riparian communities, and the moderation of climate variability change.

Maintain long-term soil productivity

Types of Assessments Resources the FS has generated on POW:

National Watershed Condition ClassificationLandscape AssessmentsWatershed Analyses (Stream Surveys, Tier II,

III, IV) and Proper Functioning Condition Assessments

Watershed Restoration PlansProject Recommendations, Prescriptions,

designs and Cost EstimatesNEPA & ImplementationMonitoring

Watershed Condition Classification

Class 1 watersheds exhibit high geomorphic, hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to their natural potential condition.

Class 2 watersheds exhibit moderate geomorphic, hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to their natural potential condition.

Class 3 watersheds exhibit low geomorphic, hydrologic and biotic integrity relative to their natural potential condition.

Watershed Condition Classification

Class 1 = Functioning ProperlyClass 2 = Functioning at RiskClass 3 = Impaired Function

Priority Watershed Program

The Tongass has a number of Watersheds, that are “at risk” for maintaining ecological function and aquatic resource values and productivity

Watershed health issues mostly revolve around riparian forest condition, road related risks and impacts, and instream habitat condition and risk of decline in productivity.

Priority Watershed Program

National direction continues to stress maintain watersheds that have important ecological values. Tongass has an abundance of watersheds in this category. We can produce a good return on restoration and improvement investments.

We are building on strong support from numerous partner organizations -- TNC, TU, SCS— who are helping to leverage substantial grant funding for watershed, riparian and aquatic habitat improvement projects.

Priority Watershed Program

Priority Watershed Program

Priority Watershed Program

Existing Information

Documents/ Research

ModelsAssessments/

Aquatic Inventory

Identify gaps and local concerns????

Develop watershed assessments to identify projects that will reach our desired future condition

Aquatic Assessment/ Inventory Uses

(1) maintaining long-term watershed health,

(2) determining baseline aquatic resourceconditions,(3) evaluating aquatic resource condition

trends,(4) interpreting resource responses to

natural andhuman disturbance, and(5) assigning achievable desired future

conditions

More Aquatic InventoryUses

• 1. Asses riparian habitat conditions• 2. Assess populations• 3. Support design of in-stream structures• 4. Monitor effects• 5. Watershed restoration planning

Types of Assessments

Fish and Aquatic Stream InventoryHierarchy

• Tier I - classification level• Tier II - quantitative measures of core habitatattributes summed by reach• Tier III - replication of physical measurements,additional habitat attributes summed by habitatunit, habitat units to meso level• Tier IV - systematic replication of physical habitatmeasures, addition attributes summed by habitatunits, habitat units to micro level

Aquatic Inventory Applications

Tier I – Minimum field verification standards for timber sale project planning

Tier I/II – Upstream Assessment of Fish Habitat

Tier II/III – Watershed condition and needsassessmentTier IV - Channel condition assessment

Habitat Management Objectives

Width to Depth RatioTotal Large Wood per KilometerTotal Key Large Wood per KilomterPools per KilometerPool SpaceResidual Pool Depth/ Channel BedwidthSubstrate Size Pool Length per MeterPool Size

Complete project monitoring & adaptive management

Resources

•  Staney Creek Vegetative Management Strategy  Staney IRMP Proposal for Action  Staney Creek Restoration Environmental Assessment  Staney Creek Restoration EA Decision Document  Staney Creek Watershed Restoration Plan  Alaback

- Opportunities for Restoring Second Growth Ecosystems  Brinkman

- Trends of Deer and Hunters on Prince of Wales Island  Unit 2 Wildlife Harvest Data  Young Growth Management Strategy for Unit 2  Framework for Setting Restoration Priorities on POW  Alaback

- Evaluation of canopy gaps for wildlife in SE Alaska

 Ellanna and Sherrod - Timber Management and Fish and Wildlife use in Klawock (1987)

 Brock and Coiley-Kenner - Traditional Knowledge about the Fisheries of Southeast Alaska (2009)

 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Proposal (5/14/10)

 Impacts of restoration on sustainable timber harvest levels (Brackley).

 Tradeoffs among ecosystem services benefits (Nicholls)  

Integrating ecosystem Services and forest restoration (Deal/Patterson)

 Heating options suing biomass removals from Staney young growth (Nicholls).

 Social benefits of restoration projects (Kruger).  Staney Community Forestry Project FINAL: REPORTResources

Resources

http://www.fs.fed.us/publications/watershed/

http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/staney-creek/

http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/staney-creek/documents/documents-and-papers/view.html

The Forest Service