The Watershed Restoration Program of British Columbia: Accelerating Natural Recovery Processes

Until recently, in British Columbia, there was no mechanism to ensure the reha-bilitation of resource values adversely impacted by logging-induced landslides, erosion from logging roads, and harvesting of mature riparian trees to the stream-bank. In 1994, the Watershed Restoration Program was initiated under the province's Forest Renewal Plan to provide an opportunity for diverse stakehold-er partnerships to accelerate the recovery of watersheds impacted by logging practices of the past. Several decades of research on watershed processes, limita-tions to salmonid production in streams and rehabilitation techniques, combined with provincial training initiatives, provide the technical basis for application of a set of integrated restorative measures linked to the new Forest Practices Code. As first priority, the conditions of roads, slopes, gullies, riparian areas, stream channels and fish habitat are assessed. Roads are storm proofed by either reestab-lishing natural drainage patterns or by deactivation. Hillslope scars are revege-tated with grasses, shrubs and trees to control erosion, thus increasing fish stock productivity, while also improving water quality, forest regeneration and biodi