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Draft would replace numeric stream types with Type F/N and reduce many riparian buffers
Summary
Consultants recommended switching Whitman County from an antiquated numeric stream typing to the state's Type F (fish-bearing) and Type N (non-fish) system and proposed new buffer tables that reduce buffers for many streams (example: many Type 3 values move to ~180 feet). They said WDFW has been consulted and an alternative pathway would allow site-specific data to reduce buffers where appropriate.
The Planning Commission heard that the draft CAO replaces the county's numeric stream-type system (1'5) with the state standard of Type F (fish-bearing) and Type N (non-fish) and proposes new riparian buffer dimensions that will reduce buffers for many streams in the county.
Dan Nickel explained the change in stream typing: "Type f being, streams that contain fish and fish habitat and type n are streams where you do not have fish or fish habitat." The proposal would set many Type 3-equivalent buffers at about 180 feet where site-potential tree-height data exist, and a 100-foot minimum where tree data are absent, with a cap that protects contiguous riparian vegetation up to 150 feet in certain circumstances.
Consultants said they had met with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which "would support this" methodology, and they offered an alternative pathway that would allow applicants to use the state database and site-specific investigations to justify reduced buffers in dry shrub-steppe ecosystems or where site-potential tree-height data indicate smaller buffers.
Commissioners raised concerns about relying on an external state-maintained database to identify local prairie habitats and asked staff to confirm whether the Palouse prairie features are reflected in the WDFW data. Consultants confirmed a local nomination process exists in the code for features the community wants to protect.
