Forest Planning And Practices In Coastal Areas With Streams

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.

Many species of fish occupying inland waters reside in watershedsthat were or still are surrounded by forests and are dependent inmajor ways upon such cover. The interactions between fishes andforests are complex, multifaceted, dynamic processes involving mostinland surface waters, forests, subsurface waters, geology andsoils, climate and its changes, and the biotic components of therelevant ecosystems. These interactions also include the aspects offorestry tied to human development, economics, population growthand even philosophies. Fishes and Forestry is truly a landmark publication. Theeditors, Professors Northcote and Hartman, have drawn together andcarefully edited chapters written by 56 scientists from around theworld, covering a vast wealth of information never before appearingwithin the covers of one book. Following an introductory chapter,this exceptional work is broadly divided into sections covering:the ecology of forests, streams, lakes and estuaries; fish biologyand ecology; forestry activities and their effects on aquaticsystems and fishes; 14 chapters covering examples of fish-forestryinteractions from around the world and a final section coveringmeans of effecting better fish-forestry interactions. Fishes and Forestry is an essential purchase for allthose involved in inland fisheries, forestry and their interaction,including fisheries scientists, fish biologists, ecologists,environmental scientists and forestry scientists. Libraries in alluniversities and research establishments where these subjects arestudied and taught should have several copies on their shelves.

Arguing that the complexity of policy-making in the forest sector has led many analysts to focus exclusively on specific sectoral activities or jurisdictions, this collection of essays offers a simplifying framework of analysis.

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.

Results from the first 17 years of a multi-disciplinary study about the effects of logging activities on a small stream ecosystem in the coastal rainforest of British Columbia have been reviewed. The main hydrological, fluvial-geomorphological, thermal, and production relationships are integrated in four schematic illustrations. Applications of results to land use planning are also discussed.