Recommended Best Management Practices

The following section summarizes the recommended best management practices for the non-karst portion of karst catchment areas. Be sure to check out more detailed information in the Karst Management Handbook for British Columbia.

Non-karst catchments contributing to low vulnerability areas

Use default standards for riparian management as specified in the regulations supporting the Forest and Range Practices Act.

Non-karst catchments contributing to moderate and high vulnerability areas

Follow the recommendations for managing sinking and losing streams outlined in the Riparian Management for Sinking and Losing Streams/Sinking Watercourses section of the Karst Management Handbook for British Columbia.

Non-karst catchments contributing to very high vulnerability areas

Very high vulnerability karst terrain likely contains provincially or even nationally or internationally significant karst resources. Features with direct hydrological inputs from non-karst portions of catchment areas will likely be highly sensitive to fluctuations in water quality, water quantity, nutrient content, and water chemistry.

When managing these areas:

Consider the potential for increased runoff, higher stream velocities, and increased sediment and debris transport when developing management strategies for non-karst catchment areas draining into very high vulnerability areas.
Consider partial-cutting systems, smaller dispersed cutblocks, maximum suspension yarding, and extended rotation periods to reduce the impacts of increased runoff resulting from harvesting.
In some cases, a watershed assessment may be necessary for determining an appropriate equivalent clearcut area (ECA) for the non-karst catchment area.
Sinking and losing streams should be managed as outlined in the Riparian Management for Sinking and Losing Streams/Sinking Watercourses section of the Karst Management Handbook for British Columbia.