Assessing Ecosystem Values of Watersheds in Southern California

A standardized method is presented here for assessing the health of the environment and communities at the watershed scale in Southern Calfornia. The result is a science-based report card that be used to communicate ecosystem conditions with the public and to track changes over time. The framework for the assessment is based around five main goals: to manage local water supplies sustainably, to meet human needs by improving watershed conditions, to conserve and restore wildlife habitat, to restore or simulate natural disturbances, and to achieve widespread community awareness. For each of these goals, specific objectives are defined, and then for a given community, specific quantitative indicators are chosen that can be measured over time. A pilot assessment of the Arroyo Seco Watershed using the outlined method comprises the second half of this report and includes the watershed’s report card.