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fji18,17 DRAFT FINAL DRAFT. 12;:9/91 WATER RELATED WILDERNESS VALUES AND FACTORS The Wilderness Act of 1964 provides the authority for Forest Service management of all wilderness areas on N atiana! Forest lands designated under the auspices of that Act and those subsequently added [0 the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Act defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are unuammeled. by man". as an area "retaining its primeval character" wbich is "managed to preserve its natural conditions". and as an area which "appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature. (pL 88-571). Forest Service policy and management guidelines further define the direction ..:ontained in the Wilderness Act by stating that wilderness will be managed "to ell$ure that human influence does not impede the free play of natural forces or interfere with natural successions in the ecosystems" and that ecosystems "should be unaffected by human manipulation and influences SO that plants and animals develop and respond to natural forces" (USDA-FS. FSM 2320), The Winh amendment to S. 1029. the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1991, would mandate -adequate- protection of water related resources in the proposed Piedra Wilderness. The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd college edition defines adequate as -I) able to satisfy a requirement; suitable or 2) barely satisfactOry or sufficient (l985). Therefore the emphasis in developing an instream flow recommendation for the Piedra Wilderness based on the Winh amendment and the Wilderness Act must be on ensuring an adequate quantity of water with a range of flows sufficient to prOlect e:tisting natural conditions and resources and to maintain the interaction of natural processes and forces. Terrestrial systems. aquatic systems. and aesthetics were used as general categories of water related wilderness values and attributes to organize the high and low flow factors whicb are the basis for the instream flow needs for the Piedra River and its tributaries. The principle factOrs are the physical and biological requirements of riparian veget.1tion. river otter, fish, and aquatic insects. These requirements are related and interdependent and a range of stteamflows will be necessary to meet them. See Figure E. Although aesthetics is an important part of wilderness management and the wilderness experience. maintenance of this value can be achieved with iruitream flows quantified on the basis of the other factors listed above. Following are some general relatioruihips among these factors. . Established riparian vegetation such as alder, red-osier, and willow require regular saturation of soils within the rooting zone during the growing season. Growth and survival of alder, willows. and red-osier may be enhanced by periodic flooding. . Riparian species which reproduce by seed require scouring or deposition in streamside areas to remove organic materials, expose a mineral substrate. and distribute seed. Species which regenerate by root sprouting require disturbance of the existing root system. Establishment .)f young plants by either proc~ equires moist conditions to develop a good root system. . Narrowleaf cononwood requires fresh deposits of sediments during seed drop. Therefore tlood stages must reach the tloodplains and terraces occupied by cononwood. . Streamside vegetation is important to fish habitat because it comribmes to stream bank stabiliry. serves as a source of cover, and provides a supply of woody debris and food. . Fish are the primary food source for river oner. Page 11