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Centennial Forum Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region November 2004 Brian Staab

Sustaining Favorable Conditions of Flow on National Forests in California Region 5 Watershed Management Program. Centennial Forum Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region November 2004 Brian Staab Regional Hydrologist. Organic Act of 1897

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Centennial Forum Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region November 2004 Brian Staab

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  1. Sustaining Favorable Conditions of Flow on National Forests in CaliforniaRegion 5 Watershed Management Program Centennial Forum Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region November 2004 Brian Staab Regional Hydrologist

  2. Organic Act of 1897 “No national forest shall be established, except to improve and protect the forest within those boundaries, or for the purposes of securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber…”

  3. Role of National Forests in CA National forests provide 34 million acre-feet/year of generally high-quality water. 20% of CA landbase 50% of CA runoff

  4. Role of National Forests in CA • This water is an extremely valuable resource. • most valuable commodity provided by the Sierra Nevada ecosystem • ~$1.3 billion • National forests are an anchor for many native aquatic species.

  5. R5 Watershed Management Program • Region 5 has developed a comprehensive watershed management program to protect and enhance water quality and aquatic resources. • Integration & collaboration are key. • Similar program elements, customized and implemented to address the vast array of watershed processes & issues in CA. • Water quality protection • Water use management • Inventory & monitoring • Assessment & analysis • Restoration • Land acquisition • $$ and assistance to States & private landowners • Research

  6. R5 Watershed Management • Water Quality Protection • Land allocations • Where do we conduct what types of activities? • Best Management Practices (BMPs) • How, where, and when do we conduct those activities?

  7. R5 Watershed Management • 20 million acres of national forest in CA

  8. R5 Watershed Management • Water Quality Protection • Best Management Practices • Cooperative strategy with SWRCB, EPA, & others to control non-point source pollution. • 65 practices in 7 programmatic areas • Vegetation and timber management (31) • Engineering (22) • Recreation (6) • Grazing (3) • Prescribed Fire (1) • Mining (2)

  9. R5 Watershed Management • Water Use Management • Participate in State adjudications of water rights involving national forests. • Use State’s allocation process to manage consumptive and non-consumptive uses of water. • Manage diversions to minimize effects on aquatic ecosystems.

  10. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Inventories • Geology • Soils • Vegetation • Topography • Waterbodies • Watershed boundaries • Water uses & rights • Watershed restoration needs • Fish habitat and distribution • Aquatic macroinvertebrates

  11. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Inventories: Key partners • State Water Resources Control Board • Regional Water Quality Control Boards • CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection • CA Geologic Survey • CA Department of Water Resources • CA Department of Fish & Game • University of California • Utah State University • Local watershed groups • U.S. Geological Survey • U.S. EPA • Natural Resource Conservation Service • U.S. Bureau of Land Management • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

  12. R5 Watershed Management • Assessment & Analysis • Above-project analyses • broad-scale • watershed & landscape • roads • fireshed • Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessments • Project-level analysis

  13. R5 Watershed Management • Key Partners • CDF • NRCS • Local governments & organizations • Monitoring • BMPs • Are BMPs being implemented? • Are they effective when implemented? • What are the causes of poor implementation & effectiveness? • What are the effects when BMPs are not effective? • Burned area treatments • Were treatments implemented? • Were they effective?

  14. Key Partners • CA, OR, WA • BLM • USFWS • EPA • CDF • Monitoring • Status and trend monitoring • streams and watersheds • fire severity • wilderness lake chemistry • meadows • amphibians

  15. R5 Watershed Management • Key Partners • CDF • SPI • Local water districts • Monitoring • Sediment production & delivery • What are the rates of sediment production and delivery from different disturbances on different land-types in the Sierra Nevada?

  16. Monitoring • Cause and effect • Are fuel treatments effective at a landscape scale? • How do they affect water quality and aquatic ecosystems? • Key Partners • CDF • CALFED • S. Cal Edison • USGS • UC, UNR, CSU

  17. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Restoration • Passive • Active • Short-term • Long-term

  18. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Restoration • Active, Short-term • $12.5 million emergency post-fire watershed treatments in FY04

  19. R5 Watershed Management Before • Watershed Restoration: active, long-term • Focus • Road stormproofing and decommissioning • Increasing/decreasing habitat connectivity • Riparian restoration • Streamflow regimes After

  20. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Restoration: active, long-term • Focus • Hazardous fuels reduction • Unmanaged recreation (off-highway vehicles) • Meadows • Abandoned mineland reclamation

  21. R5 Watershed Management • Watershed Restoration: long-term, active • Approach • Partnership-based • Integrated • Systematic • Watershed-scale • Priority areas • high value, functional watersheds that face risks • Long-term focus

  22. R5 Watershed Management • State & Private Forestry • Financial and technical assistance to States, Territories, communities, and landowners • Urban forestry • Multi-resource management plans. • Land protection.

  23. Summary & Conclusions • USFS has developed a comprehensive watershed management program. • Issues vary widely in CA, but general programmatic elements of the management program don’t. • Program is tailored to specific issues and applied in a prioritized fashion. • Integrated, collaborative programs are key.

  24. Future Challenges • Population growth • Climate change • Making watershed investments that are commensurate with their value. • Valuation • Institutional & social change

  25. Next Steps • Watershed scale estimates of water yield and current uses. • Use Forest Plans to identify where: • reductions of natural flows are not allowed • additional flows are needed • Implement new groundwater management policy. • Ongoing cooperation with State on restoration of impaired waters.

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