This document discusses frameworks for assessing watershed conditions and prioritizing restoration projects on the Tongass National Forest. It outlines gathering existing information, identifying data gaps, developing watershed assessments to identify restoration projects, implementing those projects, and monitoring them through adaptive management. Key parts of the framework include classifying watershed conditions, conducting landscape and aquatic assessments at multiple tiers, setting habitat management objectives, and leveraging partnerships to fund restoration. The overall goal is to maintain and improve watershed health and aquatic habitat.

1. Watershed Condition
Frameworks
A framework to assess watersheds and identify and
prioritize watershed scale restorations on the
Tongass National Forest

2.  Gather existing information on Watershed
Condition (scientific and local)
 What are our gaps? Social Factors &
Local Concerns?
 Develop watershed assessments to
identify projects that will reach our
desired future condition
 Complete project monitoring & adaptive
management
What are Prince of Wales
watershed needs??

3. Watershed condition is the state of the
physical and biological characteristics and
processes within a watershed that affect
hydrologic and soil functions effecting
aquatic ecosystems. Watershed condition
reflects a range of variability from natural
pristine (functioning properly) to degraded
(severely altered state or impaired).
Watershed Condition

4.  Terrestrial, riparian, aquatic ecosystems
that capture, store, and release water,
sediment, wood, and nutrients within their
natural range of variability for these
processes
 Create and sustain functional terrestrial,
riparian, aquatic and wetland habitats
that are capable of supporting diverse
populations of native aquatic and riparian-
dependent species
Watersheds that are
functioning properly have:

5. Watersheds that are
functioning properly:
 Provide for high biotic integrity, which includes
habitats that support adaptive animal and plant
communities that reflect natural processes.
 Are resilient and recover rapidly from natural and
human disturbances.
 Exhibit a high degree of connectivity
longitudinally along the stream, laterally across
the floodplain and valley bottom, and vertically
between surface and subsurface flows.
 Provide important ecosystem services, such as
high-water quality, the recharge of streams and
aquifers, the maintenance of riparian
communities, and the moderation of climate
variability change.
 Maintain long-term soil productivity

7.  National Watershed Condition Classification
 Landscape Assessments
 Watershed Analyses (Stream Surveys, Tier
II, III, IV) and Proper Functioning Condition
Assessments
 Watershed Restoration Plans
 Project Recommendations, Prescriptions,
designs and Cost Estimates
 NEPA & Implementation
 Monitoring
Types of Assessments
Resources the FS has
generated on POW:

8. Watershed Condition Classification
 Class 1 watersheds exhibit high geomorphic,
hydrologic, and biotic integrity relative to
their natural potential condition.
 Class 2 watersheds exhibit moderate
geomorphic, hydrologic, and biotic integrity
relative to their natural potential condition.
 Class 3 watersheds exhibit low geomorphic,
hydrologic and biotic integrity relative to their
natural potential condition.

9.  Class 1 = Functioning Properly
 Class 2 = Functioning at Risk
 Class 3 = Impaired Function
Watershed Condition Classification

10.  The Tongass has a number of Watersheds,
that are ―at risk‖ for maintaining
ecological function and aquatic resource
values and productivity
 Watershed health issues mostly revolve
around riparian forest condition, road
related risks and impacts, and instream
habitat condition and risk of decline in
productivity.
Priority Watershed Program

11.  National direction continues to stress
maintain watersheds that have important
ecological values. Tongass has an
abundance of watersheds in this category.
We can produce a good return on restoration
and improvement investments.
 We are building on strong support from
numerous partner organizations -- TNC, TU,
SCS— who are helping to leverage
substantial grant funding for watershed,
riparian and aquatic habitat improvement
projects.
Priority Watershed Program

12. Priority
Watershed
Program

13. Priority
Watershed
Program

14. Priority
Watershed
Program

15.  Documents/
Research
 Models
 Assessments/
Aquatic
Inventory
Existing Information

16. Identify gaps and local
concerns????

17. Develop watershed assessments
to identify projects that will reach
our desired future condition

18.  (1) maintaining long-term watershed
health,
 (2) determining baseline aquatic
resource
 conditions,
 (3) evaluating aquatic resource
condition trends,
 (4) interpreting resource responses to
natural and
 human disturbance, and
 (5) assigning achievable desired future
conditions
Aquatic Assessment/ Inventory
Uses

19. More Aquatic Inventory
Uses
• 1. Asses riparian habitat conditions
• 2. Assess populations
• 3. Support design of in-stream structures
• 4. Monitor effects
• 5. Watershed restoration planning

20. Types of Assessments

21. • Tier I - classification level
• Tier II - quantitative measures of core habitat
attributes summed by reach
• Tier III - replication of physical measurements,
additional habitat attributes summed by habitat
unit, habitat units to meso level
• Tier IV - systematic replication of physical
habitat
measures, addition attributes summed by habitat
units, habitat units to micro level
Fish and Aquatic Stream Inventory
Hierarchy

24.  Tier I – Minimum field verification
standards for timber sale project planning
 Tier I/II – Upstream Assessment of Fish
Habitat
 Tier II/III – Watershed condition and
needs
assessment
 Tier IV - Channel condition assessment
Aquatic Inventory Applications

25.  Width to Depth Ratio
 Total Large Wood per Kilometer
 Total Key Large Wood per Kilomter
 Pools per Kilometer
 Pool Space
 Residual Pool Depth/ Channel Bedwidth
 Substrate Size
 Pool Length per Meter
 Pool Size
Habitat Management Objectives

27. Complete project monitoring &
adaptive management

28. Resources
• Staney Creek Vegetative Management Strategy
 Staney IRMP Proposal for Action
 Staney Creek Restoration Environmental Assessment
 Staney Creek Restoration EA Decision Document
 Staney Creek Watershed Restoration Plan
 Alaback - Opportunities for Restoring Second Growth
Ecosystems
 Brinkman - Trends of Deer and Hunters on Prince of Wales
Island
 Unit 2 Wildlife Harvest Data
 Young Growth Management Strategy for Unit 2
 Framework for Setting Restoration Priorities on POW
 Alaback - Evaluation of canopy gaps for wildlife in SE
Alaska

29.  Ellanna and Sherrod - Timber Management and Fish and
Wildlife use in Klawock (1987)
 Brock and Coiley-Kenner - Traditional Knowledge about
the Fisheries of Southeast Alaska (2009)
 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
Proposal (5/14/10)
 Impacts of restoration on sustainable timber harvest levels
(Brackley).
 Tradeoffs among ecosystem services benefits (Nicholls)
 Integrating ecosystem Services and forest restoration
(Deal/Patterson)
 Heating options suing biomass removals from Staney
young growth (Nicholls).
 Social benefits of restoration projects (Kruger).
 Staney Community Forestry Project FINAL: REPORT
Resources

30.  http://www.fs.fed.us/publications/watersh
ed/
 http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/sta
ney-creek/
 http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/sta
ney-creek/documents/documents-and-
papers/view.html
 The Forest Service 
Resources