[SCE] "it's in the dirt"

[alevine at mcn.org]

Yes ! Soil loss due to fire and other forestry related issues are huge.

There are a number of north coast rivers that have reached their
assimilative capacity for sediment.

Fire reduces veg cover and bakes the soil.  These conditions allow for
faster runoff (usually on lands that have been disturbed (loss of trees
and veg cover and runoff diversion concentrations that cut and percipitate
landsliding, by timber harvest operatios in the recent past.  The result
being - along with landslides, sheet and rill erosion, the lag time to
peak flow is reduced - which supercharges the downstream flow regimes
causeing more failure of culverts, erosion, and stream bank colapse.

This is all a bummer for the echosystem as well as forest productivity,
water quality, and fish survival.

The best thing that can be done is to work to limit impacts from forest
mis-management - increase forest inventory which will lead to greater
productiivity and protection of soils, and other forest and water quality
values.

This is all called for in State Code - Forest Practices Act (Restore,
Enhance, and Maintain),  Cal Water Code, and DFG Code. All not being
enforeced.

Think this is important? Who is working on this one?

Alan


> ==========================
> Sonoma Coast Environmental
> ==========================
> I thought you might be interested in this editorial from Oregon....
>
> Have a wonderful holiday week,
> Rue
>
>
> Editorial: It’s in the dirt
> Published:
> November 19, 2015 12:01AM
> “Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many
> accomplishments — owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and
> the fact that it rains.”
>
> Soil conservation is an issue most Americans never think about.
>
> Many who do are likely to associate it only with dryland farming and the
> Dust Bowl. But it has always deserved to be a matter of concern in the
> Pacific Northwest — even here on the wet side, where splash dams once
> dumped thousands of years’ accumulation of soil into rivers, lakes and
> bays.
>
> A Facebook posting making the rounds in recent days is as true as it gets:
> “Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many
> accomplishments — owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and
> the fact that it rains.” Rain we still have in abundance in the Pacific
> Northwest; topsoil, too, but we must pay more attention to it.
>
> Researchers speaking Nov. 4 at the Geological Society of America meeting
> in Baltimore draw strong connections between increasing wildfires in the
> West, soil erosion and water-quality concerns. As recently described by
> Columbia Basin Bulletin, “Wildfires, which are on the rise throughout the
> West as a result of prolonged drought and climate change, can alter soil
> properties and make it more vulnerable to erosion. A new study shows that
> the increase in wildfires may double soil erosion in some Western U.S.
> states by 2050, and all that dirt ends up in streams, clogging creeks and
> degrading water quality.”
>
> Scientific models predict erosion will increase by “at least 100 percent
> in a quarter of Western U.S. watersheds between the start of the 21st
> century and 2050, a surprisingly large increase in the amount of sediment
> to enter local streams. ... Two-thirds of Western watersheds are projected
> to experience at least a 10 percent increase in erosion by the middle of
> the 21st century.”
>
> Much of this predicted erosion will happen in California — which still
> should worry us here, since much our food is grown there and since West
> Coast salmon seasons depend, in part, on the health of California
> watersheds.
>
> However, fires in Oregon and Washington have a direct impact on water
> quality in our own region, degrading forestland, and fish and wildlife
> habitat. Eroded soil itself becomes a form of water pollution, containing
> minerals, nutrients and metals that can be toxic to fish and people. Dirt
> loosened by fires cover spawning areas in creeks and rivers, and
> prematurely fill reservoirs.
>
> Researchers plan to do fine-scale mapping of erosion-prone areas; this may
> aid in preparing for how best to retain soil where it is supposed to be,
> instead of in rivers and reservoirs.
>
> Beyond this, forestry policies must be fine-tuned to take fire danger and
> potential soil loss into account. In some places, logging can help avoid
> erosion from a future fire. More broadly, in national forests, much better
> thinning and maintenance is long overdue. Firefighting strategies may need
> refinements that place a premium on preserving soil for the future. U.S.
> Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are working
> on a worthwhile bipartisan bill that would improve communities’ fire
> preparation and address fire prevention funding issues.
>
> The public can help by realizing how much human success depends on good,
> healthy dirt.
>
>
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