Spatially Explicit Decision Support for Watershed Management on Military Lands: Stream Integrity, Interactive Programming, and Best Management Practices

The identification of land use impacts on stream habitats, biotic assemblages and microbial contamination constitutes an essential component of resource management (Richards et al. 1996). Stream hydrology, chemistry, geomorphology and biotic assemblage structure are tightly linked with a suite of regional terrestrial factors including climate, vegetation, slope, elevation, geology and land cover/land use (Johnson and Gage 1997). Because stream ecosystems are so tightly linked with their terrestrial watersheds, disturbances of land surfaces often lead to disturbances within their corresponding aquatic ecosystems (Wang et al. 2001, Wang 2003). In the Southeastern (SE) United States numerous military installations create a patchwork of highly unique landscapes. The majority of these landscapes contain areas of dense human activity (cantonment), valued timber and recreational lands, habitat for endangered species, and other specialized areas for personnel training. Recent base activities have focused on stormwater and erosion control, wildlife and timber management, and pollution prevention and runoff.