Riparian Conditions Assessment o Delineate riparian areas: the contractor will work with the project team to define the width of the riparian analysis area for water bodies. The main channels of the Nooksack River will incorporate a channel migration zone or active channel area and buffer, as determined by the project team. Streams will be identified using Ecology’s Washington State Hydrography Dataset (WASHD) that is currently in development for WRIA 1, or other locally developed hydrography that meets the same standard. o Characterize riparian land cover: using existing data sources, classify riparian conditions as forested and non-forested and characterize stand conditions (tree height, density, composition). Identify areas not on trajectory to meet target for riparian habitat goals (poor stand conditions, insufficient forested buffer width, etc.). o Identify riparian needs: using guidance provided by the Staff Team, prioritize sites that are not on trajectory for future project development. o Task deliverables: spatial data showing results of riparian conditions assessment and summary report of methods. ● Implementation Database o Create a centralized web-based database that represent spatial extent of riparian projects with associated attributes for project sponsor, year, treatment and other implementation data. o Integrate the riparian conditions assessment with the implementation database and build on the existing Whatcom County data portal. o Within the portal, create an interface that will allow project sponsors to provide, view and edit data related to their projects to facilitate collaboration and assess effectiveness and identify additional project needs. o Develop a public-facing viewer that can display basic information on current riparian conditions and project implementation. o Task deliverables: web-based spatial database and user manual.
