Patterns of riparian policy standards in riverscapes of the Oregon Coast Range

Brett A Boisjolie,Mary V Santelmann,Rebecca L Flitcroft

doi:10.5751/es-10676-240122

Abstract

Patterns of riparian policy standards in riverscapes of the Oregon Coast Range

Highlights

Maintaining riparian vegetation allows for multiple processes important to the formation, availability, and arrangement of instream habitats (Naiman and Décamps 1997, Tabacchi et al 1998, Richardson et al 2005)
Research Question 1: Among watersheds in the Oregon Coastal Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit (OCC-ESU), what is the spatial distribution of stream segments managed under the various riparian standards? We examined the spatial extent of the four major riparianmanagement policies as well as the reach-specific standards applied to individual stream segments
Because it was difficult to delineate stream segments based on sets of attributes invoked in the most detailed categories of policy designations, we focused our assessment on the extent of streams regulated under each individual policy (NWFP, State Forest Management Plan (SFMP), Forest Practices Administrative Rules (FPAR), and Agricultural Water Quality Management Plan (AWQMP))

Summary

Introduction

Maintaining riparian vegetation allows for multiple processes important to the formation, availability, and arrangement of instream habitats (Naiman and Décamps 1997, Tabacchi et al 1998, Richardson et al 2005). The current U.S policy framework for resource management divides ecosystems into individual components, e.g., air, water, land, or individual species, each managed by numerous state and federal agencies with varied management goals (Marcus 1980, Wood 2013). This bureaucratic structure creates a fragmented approach to ecosystem management, requiring considerable coordination to develop integrated management strategies at the scale of the river basin (Rabe 1986, De Groot et al 2010, Vogel 2012, Flitcroft et al 2018). The spatial manifestation of varied policy efforts results in a “policy landscape” of diverse protective efforts, influencing ecological conditions and representing an important human imprint on the riverscape (Fig. 1)

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