Making the Connection Watershed Protection and Conservation and Sustainable Management

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Making the Connection Watershed Protection and
Conservation and Sustainable Management
Bonnie Ilhardt Watershed Program Manager, US
Forest Service, R9-RO Sustainability
Conference November 18, 2008
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Presentation Objectives

• Why conserving healthy forested watersheds is
  important?
• How stressors impact watershed function
• Where are we headed?
• Options to achieve sustainable, healthy watersheds

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National Forest System 193 MM acres
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Forest Service Focus on Water Basic management
objective of the agency

• Organic Act 1897
• No public forest reservation shall be
  established, except to
• improve and protect the forest within the
  reservation, or for the
• purpose of securing favorable conditions of water
  flows, and to
• furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use
  and necessities
• of citizens of the United States

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Forest Service Focus on Water Acquired the
lands nobody wanted

• Historic land uses
• Logging, burning, farming, mining
• Acquired Impacts
• Denuded hillslopes
• Eroded gullies
• Sediment clogged channels

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Forest Service Focus on Water Worked to restore
watershed structure and function
R8, Francis Marion Sumpter Gully restoration
R3, Cibola NF Livestock control and riparian
restoration
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A healthy watershed is no accidentDraft Forest
Service Water Strategy October 2008

• Healthy watershed provides
• sustained flow of water-related services
• long-term resilency,
• recovery from floods, fire, and insects

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Healthy forested watershed

• Has the ability to
• Capture and store rainfall
• Recharge ground water reservoirs
• Minimize erosion and protect soil quality
• Regulate stream flows
• Store and recycle nutrients
• Provide habitat for (native) aquatic and riparian
  species

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Agency goal of managing forests to protect and
conserve watersheds and provide for.
recreation
flood regulation
fresh water
habitat
fiber
is at risk due to stressors.
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Presentation Objectives

• Why conserving healthy forested watersheds is
  important?
• How stressors impact watersheds?
• Where are we headed?
• Options to achieve sustainable, healthy
  watersheds?

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Stressors and Impairment to Watersheds

• What are the stressors?
• Climate change
• Land use changes
• Increasing demand for water
• Altered fire regimes

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Stressor 1 - Climate Change

• Projected Changes
• Precipitation
• Events more variable
• More extreme
• More rainless snow
• Temperatures
• Accelerated rate of warming
• Reduced snowpacks
• Earlier snowmelt/runoff
• Reduction of glaciers

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Stressor 2 - Land Use Changes

• Urbanization
• Loss of wetlands
• Increased recreation use roads and trails
• Expanding energy exploration
• Fragmentation

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Stressor 3 Increasing Demand for Water
Snow making
Bottled water
Water supply reservoir
hydropower
Energy Development
Irrigation
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Stressor 4 Altered Fire Regimes
Wildland Urban Interface
Fuels build-up
Erosion/Run-off/Loss of Soil productivity
Larger, more severe wildfires
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Presentation Objectives

• Why conserving healthy forested watersheds is
  important?
• How stressors impact watershed function
• Where are we heading?
• Options to achieve sustainable, healthy
  watersheds.

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Where are we heading?

• Era of Uncertainty

Trees killed by beetles in Fraser Experimental
Forest
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What can we do?

• Options for maintaining healthy watersheds
• Manage for watershed resilience
• Implement new approaches
• Share knowledge and information
• Implement Agency Water Strategy

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Option 1 Manage for watershed resilience

• Remove barriers
• restore connectivity
• Provides aquatic
• organism passage and
• unobstructed flow

R9, Chequamegon-Nicolet NF Armstrong Creek
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Manage for watershed resilience

• Improve channel-floodplain connectivity
• Reduces erosion
• Reduces bank damage

R1-Clearwater National Road decommissioning
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Manage for Watershed Resiliency

• Protect and restore riparian habitats

R9, Monongahela NF
Chesapeake Bay Watershed
R5, Willow planting
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Manage for watershed resilience

• Sustain Environmental flows

Issue Critical flows versus water demand
R3, Prescott NF, Verde River
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Option 2 Implement New Approaches

• Wasatch-Cache NF and
• Salt Lake City for
• protecting drinking
• water quality.
• An innovative approach
• in a heavily used
• watershed that supplies
• water to a major
• metro area.

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Option 3Share knowledge and information
R2 - Connect with partners
Collaboration with FS Research
Middle Mississippi River Partnership
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Option 4Implement Water Strategy
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Presentation Objectives
Sustainable Management

• Conserve Healthy Forests
• Reduce Stressors
• Maintain Watershed Resilience
• Implement New Approaches
• Share Knowledge / Information
• Implement Water Strategy

• Why conserving healthy forested watersheds is
  important?
• How stressors impact watershed function
• Where are we headed?
• Options to achieve sustainable, healthy watersheds

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Making the Connection Watershed Protection and
Conservation and Sustainable Management???
QUESTIONS ???