WRIA 62 WMP 032305 - Washington State Department of Ecology

March, 2005 -75- 023-1289-003.3040
4.5 Background and Rationale for Growth and Land Use Planning Issues
The following sections provide background information for the growth and land use planning issues.
4.5.1 GR&LU-1 Background and Rationale
Problem Statement: There is a need to integrate information on current and future projected
water supply and demand with land use.
The Planning Unit discussed the apparent disconnect between growth and land use planning and
available water resources (for both instream and out-of-stream uses). The Planning Unit
recommended that relevant technical information developed within the Phase II technical assessments
(Entrix, 2002; GeoEngineers, 2004; Golder, 2005) be integrated into County, City and Town planning
processes.
Pend Oreille County agreed with the issue and approved the actions. However, they acknowledged
that the County would not be able to take on any further obligations within the current
Comprehensive Plan (tentatively scheduled for completion in June 2005). The County staff indicated
that better integration of water supply and growth and land use planning could be considered in future
Comprehensive Plan updates.
4.5.2 GR&LU-2a Background and Rationale
Problem Statement: There is a need to identify and assess locations and associated
management practices of livestock operations that utilize riparian areas.
There are a number of different scales of livestock operations within WRIA 62, ranging from small
farms that raise livestock in a relatively small area to large farms and rangeland where livestock roam
year round or seasonally. As indicated on Figure 4-10, the USFS manages the majority of the land in
WRIA 62, including a number of grazing allotments. The BLM, State DNR, private land owners and
the Kalispel Tribe also own land that is used for grazing livestock.
As noted in the WRIA 62 Phase II, Level 1 report (Entrix, 2002), improper grazing can reduce
streamside vegetation, which may result in increased water temperature and decreased stream
complexity and habitat diversity. Stream banks are weakened when streamside vegetation is removed
and trampling may result in bank erosion and increased sediment delivery to the stream. Improper
livestock management can also contribute to water quality problems such as high fecal coliform
levels due to manure deposition in and adjacent to the streams. The level of negative impact to
riparian vegetation and water quality depends largely upon livestock access to the stream. In areas
that are heavily forested or vegetated, livestock access to the streams can be limited. Conversely, if
the vegetation is primarily grass and open tree stands and the streams are not fenced, livestock access
to the streams can occur frequently and the level of impact has the potential to be much greater.
The WPU agreed that there is a need to identify the locations of livestock operations within WRIA 62
and to assess the degree of impact to riparian vegetation and water quality. At present, there are a
number of 303(d) listings for temperature and fecal coliform in both the 1998 and draft 2000/2004
listings in WRIA 62. These listings are illustrated on Figures 4-7 and 4-8, respectively. The current
303(d) listings and categorization for WRIA 62 streams are available from Ecology’s web site at
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/links/impaired_wtrs.html. There may also be other streams of
concern where data are lacking. It is intended that this action would address those streams for which
data are lacking.
WRIA 62 WMP 032305