| Citation |
Jardine, K., M. Neal and Z. Gedalof (1997) Interior watershed restoration procedure - Cariboo River Watershed, British Columbia, Carmanah Research Ltd. Prepared for Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Cariboo Region, Fisheries Branch. |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
This document was commissioned by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Cariboo Region. It contains the results of the application of the Level I Interior Watershed Assessment Procedure (IWAP) to 9 separate watersheds within the greater Cariboo River Watershed. The procedure was undertaken as described in the September 1995 version of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia’s Interior Watershed Assessment Guidebook. Any deviation from the procedure and methodology outlined in this guidebook is fully detailed in the Section 3.2. Integral to the IWAP is the formation of a multi-agency roundtable whose purpose is to inform, direct and focus the scope of the analysis. Members to the roundtable should include representatives of resource agencies or land tenure holders with legal obligations in the area undergoing analysis. Members to the Cariboo roundtable included representatives from Ministry of Forests; Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks; timber licencees; Department of Fisheries and Oceans; and a consulting company working in the area concurrently. A complete list of roundtable members is given in Appendix A. As described in the guidebook, the IWAP is designed to be applied to complete watersheds of an area between 5 and 500 km2 (500 to 50 000 ha). The Cariboo River study area as defined by the Ministry of Environment and described below is neither a watershed nor between the prescribed area classes. Carmanah Resources Ltd. was then directed by the multi-agency roundtable to choose representative watersheds in consultation with Pat Teti, the Regional Hydrologist for the Ministry of Forests in the Cariboo Region. Using fisheries values, timber harvesting history, and development plans as the decision criteria, the 9 watersheds were chosen for analysis. The terms of reference for this assessment differs significantly from those presumed by the Forest Practices Code guidebook. That is, the Ministry of Forests did not initiate the IWAP as part of the forest planning process. Instead, the Cariboo River Watershed Assessment was funded as part of Forest Renewal British Columbia’s Watershed Restoration Program. The purpose of this analysis is to provide landuse information which relate to watershed restoration activities. Landuse managers may use this information to make more informed decisions regarding further forestry development, fisheries and other land-based issues. However, the project is organized such that the results would serve the purpose of an IWAP required by the Forest Practices Code at a future time. The balance of this report contains information directly relevant to the Cariboo River Watershed Assessment. It is not intended to be, nor is it, a comprehensive hydrological analysis of the watershed. For additional information regarding the specific requirements and products of the IWAP, the reader is referred to the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia’s Interior Watershed Assessment Guidebook (September 1995). |
