Description: Summary
The forest practices watershed analysis process was developed by forest landowners, tribes, environmental groups and state natural resource agencies. The Forest Practices Board adopted watershed analysis rules in 1992. These watershed analysis rules and their corresponding technical manual are chapter 222-22 WAC and Board Manual Section 11. Watershed analysis is a biological and physical assessment of a watershed designed to address the cumulative effects of forest practices on specific public resources (fish, water, and capital improvements of the state) and on cultural resources. Based on assessment results, prescriptions are developed to protect public resources and voluntary management strategies are developed to protect and manage cultural resources. Forest practices applications not incorporating the applicable public resources prescriptions must have State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review prior to department approval. Watershed analysis is performed on Watershed Administrative Units (WAUs) - areas defined by hydrology and geomorphology - ranging in size from about 10,000 to 50,000 acres. Of 846 Watershed Administrative Units in Washington, approximately 755 are forested, of these DNR Forest Practices has jurisdiction in some or all of approximately 460. Each analysis is conducted by a team of experts from relevant scientific disciplines, such as hydrology, fish biology, and cultural anthropology. Each team member must meet minimum qualifications, including a specific educational background, field experience in an appropriate scientific discipline, and training in the forest practices watershed analysis process.
Description
WAU_SV GIS layer shows WAU boundaries and their Watershed Analysis status as of March 2, 2009. WAU_SV is a spatial view that joins the ROPA.WAU feature class with Watershed Analysis status and other information. WAU boundaries are current as of April 2006. As established by WAC 222-22-020, the state is divided into areas known as watershed administrative units (WAUs). WAU boundaries are defined by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in cooperation with the departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, affected Indian tribes, local governments, forest land owners, and the public. WAU's are used by the Timber/Fish/Wildlife cooperators as the boundaries for Watershed Analysis studies and other natural resources management purposes on state and privately owned lands. WAU represents the administrative boundaries of 846 units. Some Watershed Analyses include more than one WAU. WAU boundaries are mainly along drainage divides (ridges). Some are along rivers or other Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) management boundaries. Administrative boundaries based on hydrology form a general hierarchy: Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) are the largest unit, BASINs are subunits of WRIAs, and WAUs are subunits of BASINs. Boundaries in this hierarchy do not necessarily match in all areas. Where Watershed Analysis has been conducted, WAU boundaries may cross WRIA lines. Do not use WAU to derive WRIA boundaries. WRIA is managed and maintained by the Washington Department of Ecology. WAU is intended for use at 1:24,000 scale. In the forested areas of the state WAUs range in size from 3,822 to 297,614 acres with a mean of 40,187 acres and a standard deviation of 26,697 acres. On the Columbia Plateau WAU areas range in size from 35,098 to 1,765,555 acres.
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Description: The Rain-on-snow coverage was created as a screening tool to identify forest practice applications that may be in a significant rain-on-snow zone (WAC 222-22-100).
Description
ROS is a statewide coverage of rain-on-snow zones. Rain-on-snow zones are based on average amounts of snow on the ground in early January, relative to the amount of snow that could reasonably be melted during a model storm event. Five ROS zones are defined in Washington State and are based on climate, elevation, latitude, and vegetation. ROS was digitized from 1:250,000 USGS quads.