Laserfiche WebLink
<br />o~aa~3 <br /> <br />STREAM HEALTH - A Definition and Assessment Perspective <br />Coryell Ohlander, Rocky Mountain Region, USFS. Aug 1996. <br />(P.o. Box 25127, lakewood CO 80225. 303/275-5097) <br /> <br />The Rocky Mountain and Southwestern Regions of the u.s. Forest Service have <br />adopted a standard set of definitions for Stream Health. This set, and the <br />underlying legal framework, is the basis for evaluating project and watershed <br />cumulative effects, as required by the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National <br />Environmental Policy Act. The purpose of this brochure is to briefly explain <br />what the definitions are and how the Stream Health assessment is approached. <br /> <br />Contents <br />Terms and Abbreviations <br />Perspective <br />Stream Health <br />Stream Physics and Channel Materials <br />Photo Plates 1 - 8 Descriptions <br />Macroinvertebrates <br />How Much Sediment is Harmful? <br />Tarzwell Substrate Ratios <br />Drawings of Some Aquatics <br />Thalweg-Watershed Area link (T-Walk) <br />Watershed cumulative Effects <br />References <br /> <br />Text Palle <br />1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />5 <br />6- 8 <br />8 <br />9 <br />9 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br /> <br />Terms and Abbreviations <br /> <br />Best Management Practices are used to control pollution. <br />Code of Federal Regulations provide official agency guidance. <br />Clean Water Act and various amendments began in 1948. <br />CWA Section 404 specifies permits for dredged and fill operations that <br />affect water quality. They are issued by the Army corps of Engineers <br />under Regulations found at 40 CFR 230 and 33 CFR 323. <br />EPA - Environmental Protection Agency has federal responsibility for CWA. <br />Special Aquatic Sites - areas with important or easily disrupted ecological <br />values including: sanctuaries, refuges, wetlands, mudflats, vegetated <br />shallows, coral reefs, and riffle and pool complexes (40 CFR 230.3). <br />Stream Health - the condition of a stream measured against its own potential. <br />T-Walk - Thalweg-Watershed Area link is an advance warning system that links <br />physical watershed conditions (erosion and runoff) to Stream Health. <br />Thalweg - the "thread-of-the-stream" or the deepest part of the channel_ <br />USC - us Code is a compilation of existing law organized by subject matter. <br />USCC&AN - US Code Congressional and Administrative News (West publ. Co.) lists <br />laws, legislative history, proclamations, and executive orders. <br /> <br />BMP - <br />CFR <br />CWA - <br />S404 - <br /> <br />============================================================================== <br /> <br />Text Page 1 <br /> <br />,< <br /> <br />:-.:: <br /> <br /> <br />, <br />. <br />