| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The Forest Practices Board has completed an assessment of the health of riparian areas subject to cattle grazing on Crown land across four forest districts in the southern half of British Columbia. Ten indicators of riparian health, or proper functioning condition, were measured at 391 sites in Cranbrook, Kamloops, Horsefly and Penticton districts. Half of the sites were on streams and half on wetlands and lakes. Cattle lightly use the majority of riparian areas. Approximately 12 percent of riparian areas are heavily used based on our estimates of forage utilization. Overall, 71 percent of the sites are at proper functioning condition, 16 percent are functional at risk and 13 percent are non-functional. Significant differences were found between districts, with the percentage of sites at proper functioning condition ranging from 49 percent to 97 percent. The largest proportion of sites at proper functioning condition occurred in the moister biogeoclimatic zones, while the drier zones had the greatest proportion of nonfunctional sites. Riparian health scores and faecal counts in riparian areas were better in community watersheds than elsewhere. Individual pasture management was found to be a significant factor in maintaining riparian health. These results indicate that a significant number of streams, lakes and wetlands are not functioning at an acceptable level, particularly in the drier areas in the interior of the province. While the unusually dry weather does influence this result, good range management practices could have avoided some of the impacts. This level of riparian impact is not acceptable to the public. As BC moves to results-based regulation, it is critical that the expected results for range practices are clearly defined and well understood by the ranching community so similar problems are avoided in the future. Recommended changes include a clearer definition of proper functioning condition and a list of measurable criteria to determine it, development of a riparian classification system including a minimum width for defining riparian areas, expanding the scope of section 7(3) of the Range Practices Regulation to all riparian areas rather than just those in community watersheds, and adopting a maximum forage utilization standard in riparian areas. The Ministry of Forests is also advised to more clearly distinguish its roles and responsibilities in range use planning from those of the licensees. |
