U.S. Forest Service National BMP Program

Transcription

1 U.S. Forest Service National BMP Program Joan Carlson Hydrologist November 16, 2015

2 National Forests in Colorado 16,500+ miles perennial streams National Forests 22% of state land area produces 68% of annual water yield

3 National Forests are managed for multiple uses

4 Watershed stewardship A fundamental value for the Forest Service Maintain and Improve Watersheds Clean Water Act Compliance Accountability Lawsuits NEDC v. Brown CNE & BCA v. USFS

5 Nonpoint Source Management Strategy Implement BMPs Adjust BMPs Monitor BMPs 5

6 Why a National BMP Program? Nationally consistent BMPs needed for agency accountability Comparable results across National Forests Patterns and trends, what s working, or not, and why

7 National BMP Program National Core BMPs National Core BMP Monitoring Protocols

8 75 National Core BMPs General Planning Aquatic Ecosystem Management Chemical Uses Management Facilities and Nonrecreation Special Uses Management Wildland Fire Management Minerals Management Rangeland Management Recreation Management Roads Management Mechanical Vegetation Management Water Uses Management

9 National Core BMPs Require development of site-specific BMP prescriptions tailored to site conditions Use existing State BMPs, Forest Service BMPs, land management plan direction, BMP monitoring results for local guidance on site-specific prescriptions

10 National Core BMP Region 2 WCP1 Wisconsin BMP4 BMP Plan-3 Aquatic Management Zone (AMZ) Planning Determine width of AMZ for waterbodies in the project area that may be affected by the proposed activities. Evaluate the condition of riparian habitat and estimated response to the activity to determine need for and width of AMZ. Use stream class and type, channel condition, aspect, slope, and soils to determine appropriate AMZ width. Water Influence Zone (WIZ) The WIZ includes the geomorphic floodplain, riparian ecosystem, and inner gorge. The minimum horizontal width is 100 feet or the mean height of mature dominant late-seral vegetation, whichever is most. Riparian Management Zone (RMZ) The RMZ for lakes, designated trout streams, and streams 3 feet wide or wider is a strip of land running along the shoreline of lakes and on each side of a stream. It begins at the ordinary high water mark and extends a minimum of 100 feet landward. The RMZ for streams less than 3 feet wide is a strip of land on each side of a stream, beginning at the ordinary high water mark and extending a minimum of 35 feet.

11 National BMPs and Monitoring Protocols 11 Resource Categories 75 BMPs 42 Protocols Resource Category # of BMPs # of Monitoring Protocols General Planning 3 In All Aquatic Ecosystem Management 4 2 Chemical Use Management 6 3 Facilities and Nonrecreation Special Uses 10 4 Wildland Fire Management 4 2 Minerals Management 8 4 Rangeland Management 3 1 Recreation Management 12 9 Road Management 11 9 Mechanical Vegetation Management 8 3 Water Uses Management 6 5 Total 75 42

12 National BMP Monitoring Adaptive Management. CWA compliance. Forest plan and other monitoring commitments. Support NEPA analysis and decision-making. Close the Loop

13 National BMP Monitoring Protocols 42 protocols for 10 resource categories. Site-level assessments. Completed by interdisciplinary teams. Those who plan and implement the BMPs should be the ones who monitor the BMPs.

14 Monitoring Protocol Examples Facilities Active Construction of Non-Corridor Facilities O&M of Non-Corridor Facilities Construction or O&M of Pipelines, Transmission Lines or ROW Completed Facility Reclamation Roads Management Construction or Reconstruction of Road and Stream Crossings (2) Road Maintenance Road Storage Road Decommissioning (2) Snow Removal and Storage Parking and Staging Areas Equipment Refueling and Servicing

15 Monitoring Protocols Each evaluation assesses implementation effectiveness (on-site) Each has protocol & field form opportunity for feedback rating ruleset Approach facilitates multiscale analysis.

16 Monitoring Protocols Header (3 pages) 1. Type of review being performed. Select one: Chem A. Chemical Use Near Waterbodies (Reference BMPs Chem-1, Chem-2, Chem-3, Chem-5, and Chem-6) V.2.0 February 2014 Implementation Effectiveness Both Implementation and Effectiveness Follow-up Follow-up Follow-up Implementation Effectiveness Implementation and Effectiveness 2. If current review is for an initial evaluation of effectiveness only, what was the date of the implementation review for this site? 3. If current review is a follow-up evaluation, what was the date of the most recent evaluation? 4. Date of current field evaluation: 5. If this is a follow-up evaluation, describe all of the corrective actions that were applied to protect or improve water quality since the initial evaluation: 6. If this is a follow-up evaluation, describe all of the adaptive management actions that were applied to protect or improve water quality since the initial evaluation: 7. Reviewers and Titles: 8. Region number: 9a. Proclaimed Forest or Grassland number and name: 10. District number and name: 9b. Administrative Forest or Grassland number and name: 11a. Reason for monitoring. Select all that apply: National BMP Land Management Project Review Quality Assurance Other (specify): Targets Plan Monitoring 11b. Was the project/site selected randomly from the pool developed using the National BMP Monitoring Program instructions that correspond to this form? Select one: a. Yes b. No If No, describe the procedures used to select the project/site: Introduction Population Development and Sample Selection Timing of Monitoring Who Should Conduct the Evaluations Instructions for Completing the Field Observations Header Questions Implementation Questions Effectiveness Questions

17 Monitoring Protocol Questions Implementation Were site-specific BMP prescriptions implemented as planned or designed? Effectiveness Were site-specific BMP prescriptions effective in protecting water quality?

18 Road A Active road/crossing construction or reconstruction Implementation Questions: Dewatering provisions Limits on Disturbance Timing of Operations Placement/Storage of Excavated Materials Temporary Erosion Control Measures Erosion Control Plan Modification to Standard Practices

19 Fac C Construction of Pipelines, Transmission Lines or ROWs Effectiveness Questions: Physical damage to a waterbody at crossing Evidence of erosion: in the corridor at a waterbody crossing Erosion source and cause Ground cover standards met Evidence of chemicals or fuels Corrective Actions and Adaptive Management Actions

20 Corrective Actions and Adaptive Management Actions Corrective Actions At the site to improve BMP implementation or effectiveness Adaptive Management Actions Applies to all similar projects or activities to improve BMP implementation or effectiveness

21 Evaluation Ratings Implementation Rating (IR) Combined Scoring Fully Implemented Mostly Implemented Marginally Implemented Not Implemented No BMPs Effective Excellent Excellent Good Good No Plan Mostly Effective Effectiveness Rating (ER) Marginally Effective Good Good Fair Fair No Plan Fair Fair Poor Poor No Plan Not Effective Poor Poor Poor Poor No Plan

22 BMP Evaluations completed on NFS lands in Colorado in FY14 Number of Evaluations Composite Ratings Good Bad No Plan Resource Category

23 Colorado FY14 BMP Monitoring Results 9 Implementation Ratings for Range, Recreation, Road, and Vegetation Evaluations Effectiveness Ratings for Range, Recreation, Road, and Vegetation Evaluations Number of Evaluations No BMPs Not Imp Imp Number of Evaluations Not Eff Eff Range Rec Road Veg Resource Category 0 Range Rec Road Veg Resource Catergory

24 National BMP Monitoring Results FY Composite Ratings for FY15 BMP Evaluations by Resource Category Number of Evalautions No Plan Poor Fair Good Excellent 0 AqEco Chem Fac Fire Min Range Rec Road Veg WatUses Resource Category Provisional Data

25 Questions? (303)