Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Price, K. 2003. Testing the hydroriparian planning guide. Coast Information Team, BC Ministry of Forests. |
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| Organization | FLNRO |
| URL | https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/slrp/citbc/b-TestingHPG-17Jun03.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | This report describes a map-based test of the Hydroriparian Planning Guide designed to • identify gaps, uncertainties and redundancies in the guide, and • estimate the impact of precautionary guidelines on timber harvest in two North Coast watersheds. Paril River (5,300 ha) has been harvested over the past decade; development of Chambers Creek (~ 9,000 ha) has recently started. The test uses existing maps (1:20,000) and databases to design hydroriparian ecosystem networks that meet the precautionary guidelines listed in the Hydroriparian Planning Guide. The test clarified the guide in several places (see Section II): • Terrain mapping (at least of fluvial units) is required to use the Hydroriparian Planning Guide. • Mapping the transportation and deposition zones using terrain information plus a fixedwidth buffer is preferable to the procedure listed in the guide. • Not all colluvial cones should be included within the transportation zone. • Stream morphology assessments should be performed by sub-basin. • Site-level assessment will be important to classify small streams. Identification of redundancies led to a simpler process to design the hydroriparian ecosystem network (see Section III): • on a base map showing water features, contours and process zones, 1. Reserve all terrain polygons classified as slope stability IV or V. 2. Reserve all terrain polygons classified as active fluvial units (or as floodplains of unknown activity). Reserve all wetlands. 3. Reserve buffers around all streams within the transportation and deposition zones. 4. Determine if extra reserves are required to protect high-valued fish habitat. 5. Reserve red-listed, blue-listed and other rare ecosystems. 6. Calculate the area of each hydroriparian ecosystem to reserve. Add preliminary reserves as necessary, considering site series (or surrogate) representation. 7. Select small stream reserves in source zone. Consider site series representation. 8. Check that all site series are proportionally represented and modify as necessary. 9. Check that requirements for corridors are met within the reserve system and modify as necessary. Assessment of the effect of each guideline on the hydroriparian ecosystem networks (see Sections II and III) found that, in the two study watersheds, • guidelines designed to maintain stream morphology, bank stability and downed wood addressed guidelines designed to protect high-valued fish habitat, • guidelines designed to maintain stream morphology, bank stability and downed wood generally addressed guidelines designed to maintain biodiversity; exceptions, including fans and high productivity riparian hemlock stands, required relatively little additional area to provide representation, • relatively little additional area was required to provide continuous corridors along small streams. The precautionary watershed-level hydroriparian ecosystem networks covered 56% (in Chambers Creek) and 64% (in Paril River) of operable forest, leaving 10 and 11% of each entire watershed available for harvest (see Section IV). Steps in the hydroriparian ecosystem network design with the biggest impact on operable forest included, in order, • reserving Class IV terrain, • reserving active fluvial units, • buffering streams in the transportation zone. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Central Coast; Vancouver Island North; Haida Gwaii |
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| Project status | complete |
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