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Stream Inventory Handbook

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Stream Inventory Handbook STREAM INVENTORY HANDBOOK LEVEL I & II APPENDIX REFERENCE IN TEXT Ohanapecosh River - Gifford Pinchot NF PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION REGION 6 2010 ~ Version 2.10 Stream Inventory Handbook: Level 1 and Level II CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Introduction/Overview ......................................................................... 4 Background ............................................................................................................................ 4 Inventory Attributes ............................................................................................................... 5 Establishing Forest Priorities ................................................................................................. 6 Stream Inventory Program Management ............................................................................... 6 Program Administration And Quality Control ...................................................................... 7 A Standard Protocol ............................................................................................................... 8 Presentation of Information ................................................................................................... 9 Handbook Content ............................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 Office Procedures Level I Inventory - Identification Level ..............12 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 12 Standards .............................................................................................................................. 12 Equipment/information Needed ........................................................................................... 12 Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 13 Products................................................................................................................................ 13 Survey Form .............................................................................................................. 14 Preliminary Reach Form ............................................................................................ 18 CHAPTER 3 Field Procedures: Level II Inventory-Aquatic Ecosystem Inventory 24 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 24 Safety ................................................................................................................................... 24 Standards .............................................................................................................................. 25 Equipment/information Needed ........................................................................................... 26 Procedures ............................................................................................................................ 27 Products................................................................................................................................ 27 FINAL REACH FORM ............................................................................................. 28 Channel Unit Form .................................................................................................... 34 Special Cases Form (Culverts, Dams, Falls, Chutes, and Marshlands) ..................... 54 COMMENTS FORM ................................................................................................ 58 Aquatic Biota Form ................................................................................................... 61 SAFETY .................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER - 4 Specialized Field Procedures: Discharge and Wolman .................67 Stream Habitat Data Discharge Form ........................................................................ 67 Wolman Form ............................................................................................................ 73 APPENDIX A Watershed Codes .............................................................................79 APPENDIX B Stream Orders ..................................................................................80 APPENDIX C Forest Options .................................................................................81 VALLEY FORM CODES ......................................................................................... 81 VALLEY CROSS-SECTION ................................................................................... 81 APPENDIX D Successional Class Codes ...............................................................92 Version 2.10 2 Stream Inventory Handbook: Level 1 and Level II APPENDIX E Stream Inventory Glossary ..............................................................93 GLOSSARY OF STREAM INVENTORY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ...............................................................................................104 APPENDIX F - Table of Life Stage Values ..........................................................109 APPENDIX G - Table of Life History Values ......................................................110 APPENDIX H Stream Inventory JHA ...................................................................111 INDEX ...................................................................................................................114 Version 2.10 3 Stream Inventory Handbook: Level 1 and Level II CHAPTER 1 Introduction/Overview BACKGROUND Periodic, recurring inventories are an integral part of the fish habitat and watershed management programs and form the foundation for effective program management. Inventories should produce comparable information, both between administrative units, as well as across time. They will generate the baseline information that will be used to support a variety of management activities, including, but not limited to; watershed analysis, timber sales, range allotments, special use permitting, and fish habitat and watershed restoration programs. They will also serve as the basis for stream monitoring and evaluation programs. Specifically, inventories will identify existing aquatic and riparian conditions, identify factors limiting the productive capabilities of habitats, measure attainment of meeting stream habitat objectives, and help to assess cumulative watershed effects. The inventories can be used to monitor and refine Land Management Plan Standards and Guidelines. The Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) stream inventory is designed on a hierarchical scale to provide the user the opportunity to choose an inventory protocol which meets the data needs for the questions asked. Level I is the basic in-office procedure which identifies standard attributes of the watershed/stream to be analyzed. Its primary objective is to document and consolidate sources of general knowledge of the stream system. Level II is an extensive stream channel, riparian vegetation, aquatic habitat condition and biotic inventory on a watershed-wide scale. This level is to be used to determine the "pulse" or condition of a system during low flow conditions. Level III is an intensive field inventory designed specifically to answer a particular question (i.e., monitoring, project level planning and project design, etc.). This handbook provides standards for both the level I (office inventory) and level II (field inventory). A level II inventory requires the completion of a level I as a prerequisite. The protocol identifies core attributes that are necessary to evaluate the condition of the stream (mandatory for collection), and non-core, Forest optional attributes. Forests have the flexibility to add attributes to the protocol to meet their needs; however, unit costs and target allocations/accomplishments will be based on the Regional protocol. Region 6 has produced a recommended protocol for level III inventories, but the methods are not included in this handbook. By contrast, it is recognized that a standardized approach to level IV is inappropriate due of the large variation in data needs that exist. Therefore, procedures for level IV are open to development at the District, Forest, or research unit level. The purpose of both the level I and level II inventories is to identify existing stream channel, riparian and aquatic ecosystem conditions on a watershed scale. As inventories are completed and repeated over time, the information generated by them can be useful in measuring changes in Version 2.10 4 Stream Inventory Handbook: Level 1 and Level II stream channel conditions and determining attainment of habitat management objectives, provided stringent quality control administration occurs. In this context, the inventory can be applied as a basic "monitoring" tool. INVENTORY ATTRIBUTES Key attributes of the Region 6 level I and II stream inventories were developed considering the following concepts: Driven by questions that are to be addressed. Identification of management questions formed the basis for the content of the inventory. The ability to address questions consistently and comparably across units has been demanded of the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS) by both users and managers of the resources. Inventory and analysis procedures were developed
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