The location of perennial and seasonal reaches of non-fish-bearing streams in Washington timberlands has been of particular interest during and since the development of the Forest and Fish Report (FFR) in 1998. Under the current Washington Forest Practices Rules (WFPB 2001), modified to conform to the FFR in 2001, perennial reaches (“type Np waters”) receive greater protection from forest practices than do seasonal reaches (“type Ns waters”). In the context of water typing, the Np type applies to any waters as downstream of the highest surface flow, regardless of whether or not all intervening reaches have year-around surface flow. The FFR provides cursory field criteria and basin area methods for field application of water types, though the scientific basis for default basin areas has been questioned.
An improved understanding of flow regimes and associated basin areas of headwater streams was the goal of previous studies by the Skagit System Cooperative (SSC) in northwest Washington (Veldhuisen 2000) and similar recent studies (e.g. Liquori 2001, MacCracken and Boyd 2002, Pleus et al. 2003, Jaeger 2004) elsewhere in Washington. SSC participated in the 2001 CMER perennial stream study (Palmquist 2003) and the findings from the 25 SSC sites were analyzed among 200+ sites visited by the many cooperators involved. This document summarizes the 2001 SSC results to provide more detailed analysis of the SSC data set and to provide context for subsequent observations at the same headwater sites in 2002 and 2003. Our objectives in 2002 and 2003 were to evaluate year-to-year differences in the spatial distribution of dry season surface flow. In particular, we were interested in relocating the highest surface water in each channel (AKA “Pd” in CMER study), which indicates the regulatory break between type Np and Ns waters.
Veldhuisen, C., 2004. Summary of Headwater Perennial Stream Surveys in the Skagit and Neighboring Basins – 2001-2003. Skagit River System Cooperative, La Conner, WA. pp. 10.
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