HR: 0800h
AN: H31F-0731    [Abstracts]
TI: Ecologically Significant Monitoring Strategies for Watershed Managers and Applied Ecohydrologists
AU: * Buchanan, B P
EM: bb386@cornell.edu
AF: Cornell University Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, 222 Riley- Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AU: Walter, T
EM: mtw5@cornell.edu
AF: Cornell University Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, 222 Riley- Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
AB: Upper Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon is home to a unique and increasingly rare strain of redband rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii). Populations connected to perennial lake systems such as the Upper Klamath have evolved adfluvial life histories and may possess unique adaptations that underscore their importance as units of conservation. Anthropogenic disturbance including stream channelization, timber harvest, livestock grazing and irrigation diversion have resulted in a 41 percent reduction in the redband's historic habitat and the disappearance of 11 redband trout populations throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In an effort to actively conserve this sensitive subspecies, a stream creation project was undertaken with the goal of increasing viable spawning and rearing habitat in Crooked Creek, a tributary to Upper Klamath Lake. A combination of analogue, empirical and analytical techniques were employed in the design of the created channel morphology (i.e. channel planform, profile, and cross-section), the sizing of bed substrate and spawning gravels and the design of in-stream habitat and scour structures. The project, completed in the fall of 1996, was qualitatively judged a success (e.g. trout were observed actively spawning and young-of-the-year were collected during unsystematic surveys). Unfortunately, as is often the case in the stream enhancement/restoration field, funding and personnel time were lacking for the implementation of a robust post-construction monitoring plan. Thus, project success was ascertained through cursory analyses and anecdotal reports. An opportunity to implement a similar stream creation project in a nearby watershed has afforded us the chance to return to the project site and conduct a more comprehensive, quantitative analysis of the project's success. A discussion of the original design methods and a review of several state of the art monitoring strategies are provided to assist watershed managers and applied ecohydrologists in their efforts to adaptively manage and restore the structure and function of dynamic stream systems.
DE: 0744 Rivers (0483, 1856)
DE: 1813 Eco-hydrology
DE: 1856 River channels (0483, 0744)
DE: 1880 Water management (6334)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting