Process for Assessing Proper Functioning Condition for Lentic Riparian-Wetland Areas

BLM Technical Reference 1737-11

The BLM’s Riparian-Wetland Initiative for the 1990’s (USDI, 1991) document establishes national goals and objectives for managing riparian-wetland resources on public lands. This initiative’s chief goal, comprised of two parts, is to: 1) restore and maintain riparian-wetland areas so that 75 percent or more are in proper functioning condition (PFC) by 1997 and 2) to achieve an advanced ecological status, except where resource management objectives, including PFC, would require an earlier successional stage, thus providing the widest variety of habitat diversity for wildlife, fish, and watershed protection. The Riparian-Wetland Initiative for the 1990’s also contains a strategy to focus management on the entire watershed. Knowing the condition of the watershed is an important component in assessing whether a riparian wetland area is functioning properly. The purpose of this document is to provide a thought process for assessing PFC for lentic riparian-wetland areas on BLM-managed lands. This document supplements Technical Reference (TR) 1737-9, Process for Assessing Proper Functioning Condition (Prichard et al., 1993), which was principally designed for lotic riparian-wetland areas.