The inadequacy of the fish-bearing criterion for stream management

Abstract

Dependence on the fish-bearing and non-fish-bearing designation in determining the regulation of stream management is questioned. The importance of intermittent, ephemeral, and very small first order channels as suppliers of invertebrates and detritus to permanently flowing, receiving streams that support juvenile salmonids warrant their protection during timber harvest. Small gravel bed roads serve many of the same functions as the small intermittent and ephemeral headwater channels. Therefore, many could be managed like small stream channels and eligible for exclusion from road decommissioning actions. Among the invertebrates inhabiting headwater streams, many have specific adaptations to low and seasonal flows. Given these considerations, it is clear that criteria other than the presence or absence of juvenile salmonids need to be considered in managing forested watersheds.