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EVALUATING THE CONDITION OF RIVERINE-RIPARIAN RESOURCES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Citation:
Larsen, D P., S. Lanigan, K. Joes, T. M. Kincaid, AND A R. Olsen. EVALUATING THE CONDITION OF RIVERINE-RIPARIAN RESOURCES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. Presented at American Fisheries Society, San Diego, CA, April 14-17, 2003.
Description:
The evaluation of the condition of riverine-riparian resources at regional scales relies on the interpretation of measurements taken on a variety of attributes reflecting both status and processes governing status of these resources. Typical attributes include indicators of upslope, riparian network, and channel physical, chemical, and biological condition. Although there is general agreement on the types of indicators to measure there are two different frameworks being used in the Pacific Northwest to interpret the indicators: the stream network and a set of watersheds. For example, results might be summarized as the proportion or length of the stream network in the region that is in good or poor ecological condition, or, alternatively as the proportion or number of watersheds in the region that are in good or poor condition. Depending on the framework adopted, sampling is spatially distributed across the entire riverine-riparian network to characterize the network or clustered within a sample of watersheds selected to represent the condition of watersheds at a regional scale. Accepting the fact that both frameworks are valid, it would be useful that data collected under one framework be validly interpreted under the other. We illustrate how to make the linkages between these two frameworks by evaluating results obtained by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), using the stream network as its framework, and results obtained by the US Forest Service's Aquatic Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP), using 6th field hydrologic units as its framework.