California Integrated Assessment of Watershed Health

Aug 25, 2016 (Last modified Apr 17, 2017)
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Description:
California Integrated Assessment of Watershed Health, Santa Barbara County, California.

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This map shows the three multimetric index layers created as part of the California Integrated Assessment of Watershed Health: 
  • Relative Watershed Condition Index
  • Relative Stream Health Index
  • Relative Watershed Vulnerability Index
What goes into each Index? The summary answer is in the Layers Tab.  It is also summarized in Figures 6,7, and 8 of the detailed report about these data layers,  which can be found here. 

The overarching goal of the Assessment is to characterize the relative health of watersheds across the state for the purpose of guiding future watershed protection initiatives. The Assessment synthesizes disparate data sources and types to depict current watershed condition and stream condition throughout California. It is framed around the recognition that the biological, chemical, and physical health of a stream are fundamentally connected to one another and to the maintenance of natural watershed processes. The Assessment further recognizes that California’s watersheds are dynamic, ever-changing systems and characterizes the vulnerability of watershed health to future degradation. By integrating information on multiple ecological attributes at several spatial and temporal scales, a systems perspective on watershed health is provided. 

Readers are asked to consider the following points regarding the scope of the Assessment as they review methods and interpret results:
  • The term watershed health can have several connotations. Its use here refers to the holistic condition of freshwater ecosystems within a watershed. The condition of terrestrial, estuarine, coastal, and marine ecosystems are not explicitly analyzed and results should not be used to infer the condition of these ecosystem types. 
  • The Assessment characterizes relative watershed health throughout the state using a collection of indicators that focus on the natural attributes of a watershed and its freshwater streams. No statement on the absolute condition of any watershed or water body is made and results do not reflect the influence of factors not considered for analysis. 
  • Watershed health data generated by the Assessment are intended to support a screening-level assessment of protection priorities across broad geographic areas (e.g., statewide or within the jurisdiction of a Regional Water Control Board). The data should not supplant in-depth, site-specific evidence of protection priorities. Conclusions drawn for smaller-sized areas should be validated with site-specific information.
These datasets were selected to a buffered boundary of Santa Barbara County, California.

Layer ID 231
Data Provided By:
CALIFORNIA INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF WATERSHED HEALTH November 2013 EPA 841-R-14-003 Prepared by The Cadmus Group, Inc. for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Support for this project was provided by the U.S. EPA Healthy Watersheds Initiative (http://www.epa.gov/healthywatersheds)

This document was prepared by The Cadmus Group, Inc. under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds. The following individuals are acknowledged for their contributions to project planning, data acquisition, and review of draft materials:  Lilian Busse, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board  Terry Fleming, US EPA Region 9  Laura Gabanski, US EPA Office of Water  Max Gomberg, State Water Resources Control Board  John Hunt, University of California, Davis  Kris Jones, California Department of Water Resources  Karen Larsen, State Water Resources Control Board  Jon Marshack, State Water Resources Control Board  Owen McDonough, US EPA Office of Water  Peter Ode, California Department of Fish and Wildlife  Dave Paradies  Fraser Shilling, University of California, Davis  Eric Stein, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project  Tom Suk, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board  Lori Webber, State Water Resources Control Board  Karen Worcester, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
Content date:
2013
Citation:
CALIFORNIA INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF WATERSHED HEALTH November 2013 EPA 841-R-14-003 Prepared by The Cadmus Group, Inc. for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Support for this project was provided by the U.S. EPA Healthy Watersheds Initiative (http://www.epa.gov/healthywatersheds)
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Conservation Biology Institute
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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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Tags:
california, watersheds, watershed condition, vulnerability, santa barbara
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