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Ecologically healthy watersheds provide a complex array of stream conditions which are 

 used directly by a variety of species at some point in their life-cycle (Everest 1987). 

 Stream temperatures vary throughout river networks depending upon the density of 

 riparian forest canopy, stream depth, presence of groundwater seepage and other factors. 

 All fish populations are adapted to local temperature regimes. Significant alterations of 

 these regimes result in the disruption of important life cycle events, such as the timing of 

 migrations (Beschta et al. 1987. Naiman et al. 1992). 



Available evidence suggests that ecologically healthy watersheds are maintained by an 

 active natural disturbance regime operating over time scales ranging from days to 

 centuries and spatial scales from inches to thousands of square miles. Because each 

 scale influences the others, the effects of altering one cannot be isolated and may have 

 consequences far removed both geographically and temporally. Ecologically healthy 

 watersheds are dependent on the nature of the disturbance (e.g. fire, landslides, channel 

 migration) and the ability of the system to adjust to constantly changing conditions. The 

 natural disturbance regime produces a dynamic equilibrium for riparian forests, habitats, 

 water storage, water quality, animal migration, and biodiversity resulting in resilient and 

 productive ecosystems. The net result is an ecological system, at the watershed scale, 

 which possesses a biotic integrity strongly valued for its long-term social, economic, and 

 ecological characteristics (Naiman et al. 1992). 



Ill Are Existing State and Federal Land Management Regimes 

 Adequate To Prevent Further Watershed and Fish Habitat 

 Degradation? 



Existing state and federal land management regimes and regulations in the Pacific 

 Northwest do not contain provisions adequate to prevent the further degradation of the 

 region's watersheds and fish habitat. Regionally, only the state of Washington is 

 developing watershed level management goals and programs (i.e., the Washington 

 Timber. Fish and Wildlife Agreement 1987) and these remain inadequate. The absence 

 of regionally-articulated goals for an integrated watershed health plan can only be 

 understood as a failure of the local, state, and federal land management programs to 

 perceive the rate and scale of degradation in Pacific Northwest watersheds, rivers, 

 streams, and fish populations. 



In nature fish interact in a complex way with water, stones, and trees, and rivers with little 

 regard for jurisdictional boundaries. Yet in our research and management agencies the 

 offices and activities of fisheries personnel, hydrologists, and foresters are poorly 

 integrated. Until the structure of research and management institutions approaches the 

 level of integration and scale of the natural ecosystems with which they deal, attempts 

 at restoration and preservation will remain piecemeal and ineffective. Only a shift in 

 management perspective from the site-specific to an interdisciplinary watershed-level 



