An Assessment of the Values and Effectiveness of 15 Years of Streambank and Riparian Restoration Act | |
Location: Thompson,
Salmon River Watershed
Project Summary
Purpose:
Significant effort and resources have been invested by many in undertaking restoration activities on the Salmon River. The vast majority of these restoration sites appear to have been successful from a technical point of view; they now contribute to watershed integrity rather than detract from it. In addition a behavior change seems apparent over the past 16 years suggest a more proactive approach of in caring for the riparian areas along the Salmon River and its tributaries. .However site performance and restoration values have not been assessed at a watershed scale. The main purpose of this project is undertake an assessment of the benefit restoration works completed to date in terms of riparian habitat improvement as well as in improving the local stewardship practices. The findings will help guide future efforts.
Method:
Site by site assessments will be undertaken using standard biophysical assessment methods including field assessments and overview mapping. Structural integrity, fish habitat, riparian re-vegetation and hydraulic function features of the selected restoration sites. Sites will be classified by treatment type, key features, age and stage of recovery as compared with pretreatment conditions and recovery potential benchmarks. Comparisons will be made between conditions before, and after restoration. Assumptions driving current operational practices will be reviewed and scrutinized. Risks associated with incorrect assumptions and potential failures will be accounted. Remaining sites will be identified and a series of goals will be developed to help guide future restoration activity. Local Stewardship practices will be assessed by comparing past practices to present practices using questionnaire and interview techniques from a subset of participants. Correlation will be made between awareness, attitude, values, and land practices. Cost effectiveness and willingness to pay concepts may also be applied if feasible to help determine value assigned to habitat features and conditions.
Outcomes:
The outcome of the 2008 assessment will be an effectiveness evaluation of a subset of existing restoration activities undertaken on the Salmon River including a review of key habitat features and human perspectives. The project will help the SRWR answer its question: “has the effort over the past 15 years made a difference”. This project will also produce methodologies and results that may be transferable to other similar watershed projects and may contribute to improving the development of short, medium and long term salmon habitat restoration goals that are realistic, achievable, and measurable. In addition it will begin an important and often overlooked aspect of effectiveness assessment: to monitor human perception and behavior change “for the benefit of salmonids and the watersheds on which we all depend”.
See also:
srwr.ca
Final Results
The final report for this project is posted in the orange resource box to the right.
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