Forestry Terms - WXYZ -
WATER AREAS: Areas within a land mass persistently covered by water. Examples are bays, estuaries, streams, reservoirs, and lakes.
- Census Water: Streams, sloughs, estuaries, and canals more than 1/8 of a statute mile in width. Lakes, reservoirs, and ponds more than 40 acres in size.
- Non-Census Water: Streams, sloughs, estuaries, and canals more than 120 feet and less than 1/8 of a mile wide. Lakes, reservoirs, and ponds 1 to 40 acres in size.
WATER FLOW VELOCITY: The average velocity of water flowing through a cross-section of a stream.
WATER BAR - A diagonal ditch or hump in a trail that diverts surface water runoff to minimize soil erosion.
WATER CONTROL - Management of water (both surface and subsurface) to maintain plant growth, water quality, wildlife habitat, and fire control.
WILDLIFE - A broad term that includes nondomesticated vertebrates, especially mammals, birds, and fish.
WATER USES: The status of water uses subject to State water laws.
- Domestic (Household): Includes household water, watering of lawns, gardens, etc., for Forest Service administrative sites or other residential areas not served by a municipal water system, and not directly related to recreational use. For private residences, includes watering of lawns and gardens up to 1/2 acre.
- Domestic (Recreational): Includes camp and picnic grounds, special use concessionaires, recreational residences, lodges, restaurants, etc., not served by a municipal water system. This code should be used for all water systems developed solely to serve recreational purposes regardless of the number of persons served or the number of service connections.
- Fish and Wildlife: Includes, but is not limited to, storage of water that is either retained in the reservoir or released downstream to support these purposes. Also includes instream reservation of natural flow for these purposes.
- Flood Control: Water (stored, directed or rerouted) for the sole purpose of flood control or abatement.
- Industrial: Water used in manufacture or production.
- Instream: In-channel flow for purposes other than those under Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Navigation, and when there are multiple instream purposes.
- Irrigation: Application of water for the production of crops or the maintenance of large (more than 1/2 acre) areas of lawns, gardens, etc. This includes Forest Service pastures and golf courses.
- Mining: Any application of water to mining processes (e.g. hydraulic), for drilling and on concentrator tables.
- Municipal: Water provided for human consumption and other purposes through a city, town, community, water district or other formalized water system regularly serving at least 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year or provides at least 15 service connections.
- Navigation: Use of water specifically for the maintenance of navigation for commerce or trade. Excludes water used for recreational boat travel.
- Other.
- Power: Water used for hydroelectric and hydromechanical power generation.
- Recreation: Any use other than above including impoundment or instream flow specifically intended for recreational use. This also includes water required for Wild and Scenic Rivers.
- Stockwater: Use for domestic livestock grazing on National Forest, other public or private lands.
WATER WIDTH: The width of the top of the water prism from channel bank to channel bank. The line of measure is perpendicular to the flow direction.
WETLAND: Those areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do or would support, a prevalance of vegetation or aquatic life that requires saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds.
WILDLIFE & FISH HABITAT CAPABILITY: The ability of a specified area to support a species expressed in terms of numbers of animals or habitat capability index.
WILDLIFE & FISH USER DAYS (WFUD): A 12-hour day in which a person participates in a wildlife- or fish-related recreation activity.
WILDLIFE/FISH/T&E ABUNDANCE: The population levels of wildlife, fish, and T&E species for a given geographic area.
WIND SPEED: The wind speed at the height of interest (surface, plume height, or upper air).
WINDROW - A long, narrow row of vegetation, debris, and some soil created during site preparation and clearing operations.
WINDTHROW - Trees uprooted by excessive wind. Shallow-rooted trees are almost always affected.
WITHDRAWALS: Lands that have been removed or segregated from the operation of some or all of the public land laws through Executive or Congressional action.
