| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
Granby Wilderness Society undertook a riparian threat assessment to understand watershed scale influences on riparian health and site_specific conditions across the Kettle River Watershed. Information on the status of riparian areas was identified as a major knowledge gap in the initial phase of the Kettle River Watershed Management Plan led by the Regional District of the Kootenay Boundary. This project provides further understanding on riparian areas and complements the implementation of the Watershed Plan. We examined and summarized the available literature on influences on riparian health and prepared GIS (Geographic Information System) and field assessment studies to evaluate conditions in the Kettle River Watershed. The GIS assessment determined land use and status of riparian areas across the watersheds based on third order subwatersheds. For the field study, we selected subwatersheds with high levels of differing land uses as well as a reference watershed with low levels of active disturbance. We assessed riparian health and vegetation structure at 90 locations in nine subwatersheds, and evaluated patterns of riparian health and landscape disturbance. To complement the GIS and field study we analyzed historical and current air photos for Grand Forks and Rock Creek to understand historical changes in floodplains. Visible changes to wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplain forest cover were more apparent in Grand Forks than in Rock Creek, highlighting the large role that development plays in altering riparian areas. We also undertook a retrospective assessment of past riparian restoration projects to evaluate factors contributing to success and failure and develop recommendations for future restoration projects. Our coarse scale assessment found that range and forestry were dominant land uses, with broadscale natural disturbances including Mountain Pine Beetle and historical fires. We found resource roads had a smaller footprint but as linear features with over 10,000 stream crossings and 15,000 km of road their disturbance effect is amplified. We found developed urban areas to have a smaller footprint on riparian areas but where these developed areas occur are also in the grassland ponderosa pine ecotypes being the rarest ecosystems in the watershed and the province. Our fine scale analysis supports the notion that with increasing human activity there is a decrease in riparian health. The Kettle subwatershed had the most urban land use and the poorest riparian health scores. We also found the lower elevation plots had the highest cover of invasive species. Forb species richness and plant diversity tended to increase in sites with less human disturbance, lower numbers of invasive species and higher riparian integrity. Sites with higher diversity of forest structure had notably higher number of species of forbs and overall plant diversity. Based on the assessment and key findings from the literature we developed recommendations for managing riparian areas and aquatic systems for different sectors, including different levels of government, resource management, agriculture, private landowners, and other agencies. We recommend that policy and decision makers implement policy and regulatory support for protecting riparian and aquatic systems with development and management setbacks and buffers that include riparian vegetation; implement riparian protection for small stream and non_classified drainages in forest management; and develop effective road and trail access management. Successfully carrying out these recommendations will depend on a broad network of organizations and individuals working together, sharing information, finding resources, and supporting each other in watershed protection. The recommendations developed here are directly integrated in the Kettle River Watershed Management Plan and will be able to be further developed or carried out through the implementation framework being undertaken by the Implementation Advisory Group and associated groups. This network is already investing in capacity_building and training for restoration practitioners and landowners in the region, strategic funding development and high_profile win_win restoration projects. Finally, there is a need to prioritize, fund and implement restoration work in riparian areas strategically throughout the watershed, based on the findings of this report and further expert input. The authors intend to develop and hold a follow_up workshop with local stakeholders and resource management experts to develop a risk management / restoration prioritization framework, strategy, and site selection approach for future projects. |
