Challenges to headwaters management begin with representation.  Even on detailed topographic maps most headwater channels are not included, despite being present on field inventories.  Many channels are very small, lay dry for a significant portion of the year, and have therefore until recently been largely overlooked.  However, given their cumulative drainage area and impact on hillslope and downstream processes, this has been a significant omission from the general management of watersheds.  One possible visualization tool involves the utilization of GIS software, and in this study we will utilize two components: first  is the extension SINMAP, which helps visualize the extent of watersheds and slope stability in a section of Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.  The second component consists of an aerial photograph of a section in North Vancouver layered with the stream network, making Lynn Headwaters clearly visible.  By layering two sets of buffers, it becomes clear how difficult it can be to manage these resources in the face of development and resource extraction pressures.

            The concept of slope stability is a major issue in headwaters management for several reasons.  In British Columbia, particularly the interior and coast regions, headwaters form at high elevations, in steep terrain, and experience very high rates of seasonal precipitation.  These mountain landscapes tend to be covered with a loose soil of variable thickness, often lacking significant cohesion. On steep highly conductive hillslope soils like those found all over BC, overland flow is typically absent. In this absence the transport of soil downslope comes largely in the form of soil creep and biogenic transport. When there is no channel present to remove it, valleys, hollows and swales will be the main convergence point where the soil accumulates. This hilly topography is dissected in branching networks of valleys, concentrating runoff and sediment transport. As precipitation falls, shallow subsurface storm flow is focused towards these unchanneled valleys. Shallow landslides are very common in such landscapes, occurring at or near the soil-bedrock boundary.  These characteristics have allowed us to predict where storm water concentrates based on surface topography.  The first steps that SINMAP takes is to transform a DEM into separate layers, one calculating slope and flow direction, and the other creating a hillshade. From this we can make a layer showing contributing area, or watershed extent.   Finally, SINMAP makes a slope stability map based on the infinite slope equation, assuming steady-state rainfall.  This demonstrates somewhat of a worst-case scenario which can assist as a resource management tool.  It must be noted however that root strength is not included in this model, largely because of its extreme variability over the terrain.  As will be discussed later, vegetation and root strength do indeed play a significant role in slope stability, among other things.  Given that logging is one of the main human activities in headwater regions, it is vital to incorporate this information into any effective management strategy.  The DEM used for this is Canada NTS Map 092 F/11, retrieved from UBC Abacus.  The extension SINMAP is a free tool developed by Utah State University in partnership with ForestRenewalBC, Canadian Forest Products Ltd, and others, and was run on ArcView 3.2.      

            Given their scale these small streams collectively provide ecosystem services that are vitally necessary to maintain overall watershed health.  Central to the importance of these streams is the riparian area, the zone of vegetation that forms an interface between land and stream.  The benefits provided by this feature are many: they serve as a valuable habitat for fish species that are temperature-sensitive, such as cutthroat trout, bull trout, and other salmonid species.  Stream temperature is influenced by many factors, such as microclimate conditions, shade, channel morphology or land-use practices.  Removal of over- and under-story vegetation in a riparian zone that provides shade will increase exposure of the stream to direct solar radiation, increasing convection and decreasing beneficial long-wave re-emission from vegetation near the stream (Rex et al, 2011, p. 259).  Some jurisdictions, in particular BC and the Pacific Northwest states, either recommend or mandate a minimum riparian buffer and specficy the type of activity that can be carried out in the area.  There is wide variability, and distinctions are made between government and private lands.  For simplification, in this case we catch a glimpse of suburban North Vancouver cutting into sensitive headwaters.  Using ArcMap 10.2 and geospatial data available at the municipality website, it becomes apparent that the recommended 30 and 100m buffers are difficult to implement given current development practices.  Headwater streams are so numerous that to protect them requires a re-thinking of the way we harvest resources and develop our land.