Coarse Screening Process: Land Management Standards

Table 5B.3. Coarse Screening Process summary of standards: Land management standards.

Element and Standard Condition Related Land Management Standards
Sediment delivery: Sediment delivery ≤20% over natural. (See Channel Substrate Standards in Rhodes et al. 1994, Table B)
Riparian reserves: ≥300 ft slope distance from floodplains, or stream where floodplains do not exist, or to topographic divide, whichever is less. Regardless of condition. Fully protect vegetation and soils within riparian reserves from any additional anthropogenic disturbance. Do not implement approaches to riparian restoration involving vegetation removal until they have been shown to be effective under applicable ecological conditions. Reduce existing road mileage in reserves. Improve road drainage within reserves. Use active restoration to reduce impacts within riparian reserves where needed to improve habitat conditions.
Water temperature standard exceeded. Suspend grazing within riparian reserves until water temperatures meet standard or exhibit a statistically significant improving (p<0.05) trend over at least 5 years.
Bank stability standard not met. Suspend grazing within half one site potential, old growth tree height from the edge of floodplains, or streams when floodplains are absent, until bank stability meets standard or exhibits a statistically significant improving (p<0.05) trend over at least 5 years.
All habitat standards
met.
Carefully control and monitor all on-going activities within riparian reserves to assure degradation does not occur.
Equivalent clearcut area (ECA): Not recommended as a land use standard for limiting land disturbance.  Limit land disturbance via riparian and roadless reserves, application of in-channel habitat standards, and sediment delivery standard.
Roads: Decrease road mileage in managed watersheds. Improve drainage and decrease sediment delivery from roads that will not be obliterated or relocated. Habitat conditions in <90% of managed watersheds either meet standards or have exhibited statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement. Defer construction of new roads. Continue to upgrade, obliterate, or relocate existing roads.
Habitat conditions in >90% either meet all habitat standards or have exhibited statistically significant improvement. Consider reevaluation of prohibition on new road construction.
Grazing: Forage utilization standards not recommended as a numeric standard. Regardless of condition Eliminate livestock access to spawning reaches during spawning and incubation periods.
Substrate standards exceeded. Suspend grazing within watershed until sediment delivery is reduced via passive and active restoration to ≤20% over natural and substrate conditions meet standards or exhibit a statistically significant (p<0.05) improving trend over ≥5-year period.
Bank stability standard not met. Suspend grazing within half one site potential, old growth tree height from the edge of floodplains, or streams when floodplains are absent, until bank stability meets standard or exhibits a statistically significant (p<0.05) improving trend over at least 5 years.
Water temperature standard exceeded. Suspend grazing within riparian reserves until water temperatures meet standard or exhibit a statistically significant (p<0.05) improving trend over at least 5 years.
All habitat standards met. Carefully control and monitor all grazing within riparian reserves to ensure that degradation does not occur.
Roadless reserves: Maintain all roadless tracts >1000 acres undisturbed; maintain smaller roadless tracts undisturbed until documented that disturbance will not forestall habitat recovery nor foreclose management options. Habitat conditions in <90% of managed watersheds either meet all habitat standards or have exhibited statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement. Maintain protection of roadless tracts.
Habitat conditions in >90% of managed watersheds either meet all habitat standards or have exhibited statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement. Consider re-evaluation of roadless reserves.
Spatial criteria for reevaluation of land management standards: Habitat conditions in >90% of managed watersheds either meet all habitat standards or have exhibited statistically significant improvement. Habitat conditions in <90% of watersheds meet all habitat standards or have exhibited a statistically significant (p<0.05) improving trend in all habitat elements over ≥5-year period. Maintain integrity of riparian and roadless reserves and continue to implement screening process. Monitor trends in habitat condition for the entire set of watersheds within the Columbia River Basin for trends. Implement active restoration as needed to improve habitat conditions.
Habitat conditions in >90% of watersheds meet all habitat standards or have exhibited a statistically significant (p<0.05) improving trend in all habitat elements over ≥5-year period. Consider reevaluation of land management standards (e.g., riparian and roadless reserves).
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