Fish Stream Identification Guidebook

The British Columbia Forest Practices Code specifies planning and operational guidelines for each phase of timber harvesting operations around streams, lakes, and wetlands. This guide describes suitable practices to meet the objectives of the riparian management regulations within the Code, specifically the requirement to correctly identify streams on the basis of fish presence in order to ensure the protection of fish populations and habitats during all phases of forest harvesting. The guide defines the classes of streams distinguished for aquatic ecosystem and riparian zone management, identifies fish species that define a stream as fish-bearing under the Code, and describes factors influencing fish-stream identification such as stream reach, gradient, stream size, natural barriers, and fisheries sensitive zones. The guide concludes with methods for identifying fish streams, including measurement, sampling, data recording, and mapping procedures.

The Forest Practices Code guidebooks help forest resource managers plan, prescribe and implement sound forest practices that comply with the Forest Practices Code. Together with others such as the Riparian Management Area Guidebook, this document provides managers, planners and field personnel with suitable practices to meet the objectives of Forest Practices Code riparian management objectives.

A must for biologists, resource assessment workers, forestry workers, salmon enhancement groups, naturalists, fisheries students and members of the public interested in fisheries projects.

The watershed assessment procedure (WAP) is a tool to help forest managers understand the type and extent of current water-related problems that exist in a watershed and to recognize the possible hydrologic implications of proposed forestry-related development in that watershed. This guidebook explains how to complete a reconnaissance-level WAP analysis for coastal areas in British Columbia according to the provincial Forest Practices Code. The procedure includes compilation on a topographic base map of data relating to peak flow, surface erosion, riparian buffers, landslides, headwaters, and watershed characteristics, then converting the raw data into indicator scores and compiling the scores onto a watershed report card. The guide includes sample worksheet forms and instructions on how to summarize the results in five impact categories and how to produce a hazard index for each category. The appendices include definitions of erosion-prone areas and descriptions of forestry impacts on surface hydrology and erosion.