 SCOPE AND BACKGROUND OVERVIEW OF SIERRA NEVADA ECOSYSTEMS AND ASSESSMENT STATUS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION OF ASSESSMENTS AND SOLUTIONS
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rev Jun. 17, 1996 © 1996 Regents of the University of California |
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Integrated Case Study for Eldorado National Forest A forest condition case study was applied to the Eldorado National Forest. It illustrated how seven other SNEP strategies might be integrated in practice and included goals for (1) late successional forest, (2) vegetation and plant communities, (3) wildlife habitat, (4) watersheds and aquatic organisms, (5) fire protection and fire ecological function, (6) community well-being, and (7) private land contribution. This case study in-corporated a wide range of strategies to bring an integrated approach for systemwide benefits. Explicit solutions were developed that illustrate the important role of private lands and collaborative planning, adaptive management, and monitoring. They also showed the need for reinvestment to fund ecosystem restoration and management, the risks associated with increased use of fire for fuel reduction, and other implications that emerge from implementation. Grazing and Rangelands The grazing and rangelands strategy focuses heavily on educating responsible persons about the undesirable impacts likely to occur if prescriptive and adaptive management techniques are not adopted and continually adjusted through careful monitoring of a suite of proven criteria. Mountain meadows, upland shrublands, hardwood rangelands, and stream/riparian ecosystems each possess restoration needs and capacities that can be enhanced through careful cooperative management. Increased ecosystem functionality and increased agricultural productivity can be complementary goals for many sites in the Sierra Nevada. Water and Aquatic Organisms Conditions that lead to deterioration of aquatic and riparian ecosystems vary among the watersheds of the Sierra but sort into three main categories: changes in timing and quantity of flow, disturbance from land-use practices, and changes in biotic communities from non-native organisms. Strategies to improve conditions would begin by clearly identifying the causative agent or interactions that are prevalent in a particular aquatic habitat or watershed. In some cases, small changes in reservoir releases, water management, or watershed condition could create substantial improvements in the viability of aquatic systems while costing little to those who make the changes (e.g., discontinuation of fish stocking in some high mountain lakes should help restoration of mountain yellow-legged frog populations). In other cases, costly managerial changes may have little biotic effect. There is a need to differentiate among these situations and to identify when voluntary cooperation, compensation, and prescriptive enforcement are likely to work best. Improvement in conditions and use of available funds and expertise could occur by watershed-scale and Sierra-wide coordination, reinvestment, and collaboration among the diverse interests and institutions affecting the aquatic environment. Air Quality The air-quality strategy uses existing regulatory standards and remediation technologies to improve specific problems identified. These include (1) reducing ozone levels through rigid enforcement of the current standard of 0.09 ppm peak hourly rate, (2) reducing fine-particle pollution by enforcing current emission standards, particularly related to Bay Area refineries and summer agricultural burning in the Central Valley, and (3) minimizing smoke from Sierra Nevada residential sources while increasing controlled forest burning during spring and fall to avoid catastrophic wildfires. 
 
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