Errors in Washington State water type maps result in the under-protection of 40-60% of the fish-bearing stream network. Work by the Wild Fish Conservancy, Tribes, and others have systematically documented streams mapped incorrectly or not at all, limiting the effectiveness of habitat protection on private lands under local government land use and state forest practice regulations. Though water typing errors have been documented as a problem on managed timberlands, problems on private developed/developing lands are less well known. Washington State local governments make frequent use of the WDNR water type maps but do not have resources to validate their accuracy in land use planning permitting. The correction and updating of these water type maps are pivotal to the full protection of streams from development impacts, since fish-bearing streams are frequently misrepresented as non-fish-bearing, mis-located, or even missing from regulatory maps.

Using visual and electrofishing surveys, Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) will document and correct water type classifications using established state protocols in approximately 60 sq miles of at-risk lands around fast-developing urban fringe areas prioritized by the NOPLE technical advisory committee. Using GPS and GIS, WFC will accurately map previously unmapped/incorrectly mapped water courses to ensure informed and responsible watershed management. WFC will incorporate assessment results in a web-based interactive GIS available to planners, landowners, and resource managers (see www.wildfishconservancy.org). WFC will also submit assessment results to WDNR for correction and update of state water type maps. In addition to corrected water type maps, this assessment will generate species-specific fish distribution data and identify restoration opportunities on lesser-known tributaries.

The Clallam water type inventory and assessment "advances implementation of the recovery plan" (ii.) by improving local government information sources for the protection of critical areas under the Growth Management Act (GMA). The project would "advance habitat protection and restoration" (iii.) by improved on-the-ground resource protection for sensitive stream-riparian corridors, and by pinpointing small restoration opportunities on lesser-known tributaries. The project would also "advance recovery of ecosystem function" (iv.) and "advance ecosystem awareness" (v.) through improved habitat protection and public awareness of the significance of individual stream segments passing through neighborhoods. Finally, the project would "advance integration" (vi.) by linking habitat assessment with growth management policy implementation, and providing proactive assistance to private landowners seeking to protect fragile public resources on their land.