| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
This watershed condition assessment and report has been completed on the Weyman Creek watershed for Riverside Forest Products Limited, Armstrong Division (RFPL). The purpose of the assessment is to address resource agency concerns with outstanding Integrated Watershed Restoration Plan (IWRP) issues, and proposed forest harvesting and road construction activity shown on the 2000 - 2005 Forest Development Plan (FDP) in the Weyman watershed. Forsite Consultants Ltd. completed the IWRP on the entire Salmon River watershed in 1998. The process included an Interior Watershed Assessment Procedure (IWAP), Sediment Source Survey (SSS), Channel Assessment Procedure (CAP) and Access Management Plan (AMP). Site-specific sediment source issues were identified in the Weyman watershed and risk rated for the purpose of directing follow-up restoration and rehabilitation work. The IWRP process was designed to identify past forest development related disturbance in a watershed and propose recommendations for remedial action. The process is not intended to assess future forest development activity (i.e . they are not forward-looking exercises). RFPL had concerns with the IWRP risk priority ratings and the implied cause and effect relationship between areas of concern and past forest development activities. As a result of these concerns only limited restoration work under the Watershed Restoration Program was undertaken in the watershed. The objective of this report is to answer the following questions: 1) What were the results and recommendations of the various component assessments within the IWRP, and can they be used to help define the current condition of the watershed and/or help guide future forest development and restoration planning in Weyman Creek? 2) Where are the PAW priority sites, what effect have they had on the condition of the watershed, and what restorative measures might be required to mitigate detrimental effects? 3) Have there been cumulative effects from past forest development that have affected water resources in Weyman Creek? 4) What are the potential hydrologic effects of the proposed forest development and what recommendations can be provided to mitigate potential detrimental effects on the water resource? |
