USDA Forest Service USFS National Hydrography Dataset NHD

USDA Forest Service (USFS) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Stewardship Strategy Amy Jensen Regional Hydrologist, Northern Region (Region 1)

Presentation Objectives Overview of 2 key water datasets – National Hydrography Dataset – Watershed Boundary Dataset USFS Stewardship Strategy – Scope and Purpose – Goals and Objectives

USGS National Hydrography Datasets Hydrologic networks, units, catchments, and more… National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) National Hydrography Dataset The drainage network with features such as rivers, streams, canals, lakes, ponds, and stream gages. Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) The drainage basins at 8 scales of a nested hierarchy; defines the areal extent of surface water drainage to a point. Watershed Boundary Dataset

National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Water network for mapping and modeling National drainage network of streams and lakes, plus other hydro info, in a GIS format Currently 1: 24 K or better (1: 63 K – 1: 24 K in AK) Flow Direction Linear Referencing, aka Reach Codes

Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) ■ Seamless baseline drainage area dataset for the nation ■ Boundaries defined by hydrographic and topographic criteria with no regard for administrative boundaries ■ Delineated in a nested multi-level, hierarchical drainage system. ■ Each level assigned a progressive 2 -digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) which describes where the unit is in the country and the “level” of the unit ■ Complete for the US to HU 12

Supporting Integrated Science ■ Ecological flows ■ Drought ■ Flooding ■ Spill response ■ Stream. Stats ■ Modeling and prediction ■ Watershed condition reporting and analysis ■ Resource reporting and analysis ■ And more…

Forest Service Mission To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and rangelands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

7 National Forests: 17. 2 million acres in Montana = 18% of Montana ~58, 000 NHD stream miles 37% of WBD subwatersheds

USFS Business Needs NHD & WBD Used by all FS resource areas – Inventory – Monitoring National: Watershed Condition Framework (WCF), Fire Retardant EIS Regional: Forest Plan assessments and revisions, Forest Plan monitoring (e. g. PIBO), Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments Forest: watershed and project planning (timber, fuels, etc. ) FS Research: climate change, water supplies, fisheries, etc – Analysis – Planning – Research At multiple scales…

USFS Business Needs Watershed Modeling – sediment, stream temperature, stream habitat models linked to DEMs – DEMs increasingly based on Li. DAR – need to avoid mismatches between NHD and DEM-derived streams

Issues with NHD Geometry Stream Density Periodicity

Consequences Project Planning – significant uncertainties, planning costs / inefficiencies need to field-survey streams surprise! …need to drop units. Already completed surveys by others (botany & wildlife)

WBD Updates

NHD & WBD Stewardship Working together to build and maintain data The NHD and WBD data have relied on cooperative mapping through stewardship. Many states have a stewardship program via MOU’s w/ USGS. 38 Signed Agreements, 6 Draft Agreements NHD and WBD stewardship models are managed separately and differently.

NHD & WBD Stewardship NHD Feature Updates 2007 - 2017 8 000 7 000 Partners contribute 6 000 5 000 USGS Total 4 000 Steward Total 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 30% of ~ 43 million total feature edits since 2007

USFS NHD/WBD Stewardship Strategy Scope: Agency-wide All resource areas & programs Purpose: Framework of Goals & Objectives Increase access and Understanding of NHD/WBD Products & Services User-need focused Sharing of Best Practices

USFS NHD/WBD Stewardship Strategy Goals: Goal 1 (Meet User Needs) – Agency NHD/WBD products and services meet user needs Goal 2 (Informed Leadership) – Agency Leadership is informed, inspired and supportive. Goal 3 (Informed Employees) – Agency employees are informed, trained, skilled, supported and inspired Goal 4 (Stewardship Governance) - Agency NHD/WBD governance of data stewardship authorities and processes will be established, integrated, understood, and business driven.

Goal 3 Agency employees are informed, trained, skilled, supported and inspired Objective 3. 1 - Develop and sustain NHD/WBD stewardship and use training programs that are easily accessible, technologically current, and meets user needs. Objective 3. 2 - Provide sufficient technical support and resources to enable employees to use, steward, and improve NHD/WBD data. Objective 3. 3 - Promote effective communication within the Agency and among partners to encourage the exchange of ideas for the improvement of NHD/WBD use and stewardship

USFS NHD/WBD Stewardship Strategy Next Steps: Sent off to a writer/editor within the US Forest Service. Draft will be released for comment within the agency. Initial implementation tasks are being undertaken now, like: 1. Understanding the current stewardship roles (MOUs) each region has established with states and/or USGS. We will see where this goes!

Questions? Amy Jensen Regional Hydrologist, Northern Region (Region 1) USDA Forest Service amyajensen@fs. fed. us