Procedural Guidelines for Developing Soil Practices and Water Piiion-Juniper Ecosystems Charles L. ~ p a n n ' - Abstract "Approximately 3.5 million acres or about 35 percent of the piilon-juniper (P-J) woodland within the boundary of National Forest System lands in the Southwestern Region are considered to be in unsatisfactory soil and watershed condition." This condition has lead to a concern about the quality of water flowing from these lands. To address water quality concerns like this, where the pollution is diffuse (nonpoint pollution sources, [NPS]) the Forest Service in the Southwestern Region has developed a process outlined in "Soil and Water Conservation Practices Handbook." The process involves using known programmatic approaches to develop site specific practices. This is done in the framework of the Southwestern Region's Integrated Resource Management (IRM) process. In addition to the handbook, the Forest Service is continuing to develop accompanying documents such as the "Watershed Management Practices for Pinon-Juniper Ecosystems" a November 1992 guideline. Soil and water conservation practices that provide favorable conditions of flow have been a long standing theme of the Forest Service. The 1897 Organic Administmtion Act, which basically created the Forest Service, states, "The Secretaty of Agriculture shall make provisions for the protection.. of the national forests... and he may make such rules and regulations and establish such service as will insure the objectives of such reservations, namely, to regulate their occupancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon from destruction.." This is the legal basis for regulating land uses on the National Forests. GifTord Pinchot, one of the first Chiefs of the Forest Service (1898-1910), developed the Use Book to guide the Forest Service in managing National Forest System lands. The Use Book in many places discusses conservation of soil and water, for example: "The Forests here are created and maintained... to prevent the water from running off suddenly in destruction floods." "The permeate wealth of a country comes form the soil. To insure permanent wealth the soil must be kept productive...," and "The forest cover is also very important in preventing erosion and the washing down of silt." As the Forest Service developed its practices through the years soil and water conservation has been one of its guidmg principals. Today in ' ~ ~ d o l o ~ i Southwestern st, Region, USDA Forest Service, Albuquerque, NM. the Southwestern Region the Forest Service has continued the Pinchot tradition of putting its guidelines in to handbook form. The "Soil and Water Conservation Practices Handbook9'FSH 2509.22 and the "Watershed Management Practices in the Piibn-Juniper Ecosystems" are two good examples of this. The "Soil and Water Consem&ion Practices Handbook" (SWCPH) is part of the Forest Service's Directive System and can be modified as new approaches are developed. In its present form it outlines the use of soil and water conservation pmctices in the IRM process to develop Best Management Practices (BMP's) for protecting and enhancing water and soil quality. BMP's are defined as "A practice or a combination of practices, that is determined by a State (or designated area-wide planning agency, which the Forest Service has been designated by both New Mexico and Arizona) after problem assessment, examination of alternative practices and appropriate public partxipation to be the most effective, practicable (including technological, economic, and institutional considemtions) means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by nonpoint sources to a level compatible with water quality goals." This is a definition found in the Clean Water Act. The Forest Service in the southwestern Region extends this in the SWCPH to include protection and enhancement of both water and soil quahty. The IRM process, which guides the development is broken into phases as follows: IRM Phases Scoping 1. Define Decision, Review Plans. 2. Develop Project Concept. 3. Conduct Extensive Reconnaissance. Resource Management Activities Pesticide Use Management and Coordination Range Management Recreation Management Management Watershed Management Watershed Management Wildlife and Fisheries Management Mmmg and Minerals Management 4. Prepare Feasibility Report. Resource Protection Activities Analysis 5. Link to Budget. Fire Suppression and Fuels Management Emergency Rehabilitation of Watershed Following Wildf3iI-e 6. Conduct Intensive Reconnaissance. 7. Finalize, Compare Alternatives. 8. Select Preferred Alternative Documentation Resource Access and Facilities Access and Transportation Systems and Facilities. Each of these have subcategories and each sub-practice is explained using the following outline. 9. Prepare EnvironmentaVDecision Documents. Practices Implementation Includes the number of the practices and a brief title. 10. Check Process Record. Objectives 11. Prepare Project Action Plan. 12. Implement Project. Monitoring 13. Monitoring and Evaluate Results. Following these phases meets the intent of the Clean Water Act in developing BMP's for preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by nonpoint sources. Most all of the activities that the Forest Service conducts in the piilon-juniper ecosystems are of a nonpoint nature and are related to soil movement into streams(sedimentation). Again, by using the programmatic soil and water conservation. practices outline in the SWCPH and working them through IRM the Forest Service develops site specific practices for protecting and enhancing soil and water quality. The programmatic soil and water practices are broken down functionally as follows: Describes the desired results or attainment of the practice as it relates to water quality protection Explanation Further defines the brief title and expresses how the practice is applied. Describes criteria or standards used when applicable. Implementation Describes where the practice is applied, shows is responsible for application, dit-ection and supervision, and when the practice is employed. An example under Resource Management Activities, Range Management would be: 22.14 - Determining Grazing Capability of Lands l 1. Objective. . . T o mamm or improve soil stability, soil productivity, and water quality by grazing the land within its capability. 2. Explanation. This practice is an administrative and preventive contml. Soil condition classes, based on the relationship of current and natural soil loss tolerances, are used to determine grazing capability. Only land with soils in stable condition are considered as "full capability" range. Grazing capability ratings are then used in conjunction with other grazing considerations to detennine the actual grazing capacity of an area. 3. Implementation. Soil condition class is determined by qualified soil scientists using Terrestrial Ecosystem Su~vey(TES). A m g e conservationist will use the soil condition class in determining the grazing capacity.To augment the SWCPH and help the project manager develop more site specific practices the Watershed and Air Group in the Southwestern Region develops guidelines like the "Watershed Management Practices for Piiion-Juniper Ecosystems." This document discusses the classification of Woodland Ecosystems, specifically the Piiion-Juniper Woodland, the use of classification for predicting watershed response, determining the desired future condition, current soil and watenhed conditions on National Forest System lands, possible management practices that can be used in the piik>n-juniperwoodland, watershed treatment sequences, and wildlife coordination in woodland projects. The section on Possible Management Pmctices discusses the following practices: l l l l l l l l l l Bulldozing, Pushing Cabling Chaining, Chaining and Windrowing Channel Stabilization Chemical Treatments Grazing Management Hand Methods (Cutting, Chopping, Grubbing) Infiltration Enhancement Treatments Prescribed Fire Seeding Silviculture Slash Treatment Soil Amendments Tree Crushing/Roller Drum Chopping Each of these are defined, the research findings are reviewed, and recommendations are made for their use. Both the SWCPH and the "Watershed Management Practices for Piik>n-Juniper Ecosystems" are dynamic and will be added to as new and better techniques are developed. The SWCPH is part of the Forest Service's directive system and can be update at anytime. As new research comes forward or old =search is found on the practice being used in the Piiion-Juniper Ecosystem the Watershed and Air Group will incorporate it into the "Watershed Management Practices for the Pifion-Juniper Ecosystem." By using the Soil and Water Conservation Practices Handbook and accompanying document like the "Watershed Management Practices for the Won-Juniper Ecosystems" t k Forest S e ~ c and e others will be able to protect and enhance the soil productivity and assure quality water for down stream uses.