OUTCOME: Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration

Problem

Climate change, land use changes, and land management choices have made North Coast watersheds increasingly vulnerable to extreme events including wildfires, floods, and droughts. High-severity wildfires can threaten river ecosystems and water supplies by degrading water quality, damaging aquatic habitat, and reducing reservoir storage capacity.

Solution

Water - Manage North Coast forests and natural landscapes to protect water supply and quality.

Background and Context

The health of aquatic ecosystems is inextricably linked to the health of the surrounding watershed. Land stewardship has significant impacts on water quality and supply for human communities and aquatic ecosystems. Forests and natural landscapes slow the flow of water, allowing it to infiltrate the soil where nutrients and other contaminants are filtered out or degraded by plants and microorganisms. While some of this water remains in the soil, some infiltrates deeper to recharge groundwater basins. Conserving and enhancing forests and natural areas is critical to protect the water supply and water quality benefits they provide for all species.

In the aftermath of a high-severity wildfire, changes to vegetation cover and soil properties can cause increased runoff, erosion, and delivery of large volumes of sediment and other contaminants into river systems, reducing water quality for both the humans that rely on these systems for drinking water and the native species that rely on riparian areas for habitat. Fine sediments can suffocate aquatic species and bury spawning habitat as well as reduce reservoir storage capacity and interfere with drinking water treatment. In addition, loss of plant cover shading streams increases stream temperatures within burned areas, which can shrink or fragment the habitats of native fish and alter species composition after a wildfire. Post-fire cleanup and salvage activities can also disrupt stream courses and increase delivery of toxic sediment to streams if not conducted carefully and appropriately (See Ecosystem Restoration – Postfire Recovery Solution).

In contrast, beneficial fire can contribute to aquatic ecosystem health in a variety of ways, including removing hazardous levels of surface fuel and understory vegetation, which can reduce the severity of future wildfires and can increase water yield. Unlike high severity wildfire, low to moderate severity wildfire, prescribed, and cultural fire have been shown to have negligible or short-lived impacts on water quality (Arkle & Pilliod, 2010; Bêche et al., 2005; Stephens et al., 2004). In addition, beneficial fire sustains plant materials for cultural uses and maintains higher quality habitat for wildlife.

Recommendations

Forests and natural landscapes should be conserved and restored to protect the many water supply and quality benefits they provide. Degraded wetlands and meadows should be identified and restored to increase natural water storage and filtration. Some overly dense coniferous forests should be thinned in an ecologically sensitive manner to reduce evapotranspiration and increase stream flows. These hazardous fuel management actions not only make wildlands more resilient to wildfire, but they can also restore and enhance oak woodland and meadow habitat. Other human impacts in natural areas that impair water quality, such as gully erosion or poorly designed and maintained or redundant forest roads, should be assessed and mitigated appropriately. Watersheds that provide critical habitat for aquatic species, are source watersheds for community drinking water, or have great cultural value should be high priorities for fuel treatment and restoration. Tribes should be supported in applying Indigenous knowledge and practice, including TEK, to steward watersheds in their ancestral homelands and traditional use areas. Where appropriate, ecocultural revitalization strategies such as beaver recruitment and restoration should be evaluated and implemented.

Actions

Identify priority watersheds for hazardous fuel treatment based on their wildfire risk and the water supply and quality benefits they provide (e.g. critical habitat for aquatic species, source watershed for community drinking water, cultural value, etc.).

  • Develop and widely share best practices for fuel reduction activities in riparian areas.
  • Use best management practices to reduce impacts of hazardous fuel reduction treatments on water resources
    • Protect and enhance existing fire resilient landscape features such as riparian corridors.
    • Develop prescribed burn objectives that avoid creating water-repelling soils.
    • Minimize need for fireline construction by prioritizing fuel treatments along PODs boundaries.
    • During fire response, avoid constructing firelines or staging areas in or around wetlands or riparian areas.

  • Ensure Tribes and other local communities have input on Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) reports and planning and implementation to restore riparian areas damaged due to fire suppression and post-fire cleanup activities (i.e., hazard tree removal) within and adjacent to wet areas.
  • Actively survey wetlands and riparian corridors within and adjacent to burned areas that need restoration and seek funding to design and implement restoration.

In coordination with fuel management related road maintenance, identify and prioritize forest roads for water quality improvements, and design and implement projects to storm proof essential roads, decommission unnecessary roads, install erosion mitigation treatments such as rolling dips, water bars, or gravel surfacing, and remove or replace undersized culverts (See Community Health & Safety – Fire Safe Roads Solution).

Support the conservation of healthy forests, wetlands, stream ecosystems and riparian corridors identified and prioritized in Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration – Land Conservation Solution.

  • Support local and regional water quality and streamflow monitoring programs to provide baseline data and identify degraded areas in need of restoration.
  • Restore native oak forests by removing competing conifers and then reintroducing controlled burns to maintain oak woodlands.
  • Support restoration of beavers or beaver analogs to restore wetland and riparian ecosystem services where appropriate.

Work with Tribes and Tribal communities to track and evaluate opportunities for beaver recruitment and restoration to enhance habitat and aquatic ecosystems, including funding planning and feasibility studies.

Identify high-value watersheds near large urban areas that may benefit from a payment scheme or dollar-check off program with the local utility (see City of Ashland, Seattle, Salt River Project, or Northern Arizona Forest Fund as examples).

Support K-12 education on the importance of water resources and conservation.

Maintain and enhance collaborative connections between Tribes and local watershed groups with research institutions to promote on-the-ground research on field sites in the region.

  • Seek funding for local hazmat crews to clean up hazards from unpermitted grows and other incidents.

References and Resources

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