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NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites & Quantifying Short-Term Effects of High Flows on Riparian Vegetation along the Yampa & Green Rivers

Picture
Project Type:  Sponsored Research
Project Sponsor:  National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Monitoring Network
Project Location: Dinosaur National Monument, CO/UT
Status:   Ongoing

project overview

purpose of project

The purpose of this project was to design and implement a hypothesis driven, multi-scalar big river monitoring system that was cost effective and could be transferable to other networks and other monitoring programs that involve canyon-bound, big rivers of the arid and semiarid American west. Using a hypothesis driven approach this protocol seeks to quantify when and where hypothesized changes related to geomorphic simplification, vegetation encroachment and contraction (or expansion) of the riparian zone occur. Using a multi-scalar approach, this protocol seeks to include integrated assessments of change at site-specific to broad spatial scales (i.e., entire length of big rivers in NPS park units), that occur in response to climate- and human-related changes in stream flow. ​

abstract

Increasing human demands for water threaten big, canyon-bound rivers and their associated riparian and aquatic ecosystems across arid and semiarid regions of the western US. Channel narrowing is an ecological response to reduced streamflows that often is associated with increases in non-native riparian species; reduced channel complexity and aquatic habitat and diversity. Such degradation represents an important resource concerns for National Park Service (NPS) units containing these big rivers and has placed emphasis on monitoring and managing their condition. Given the limited NPS financial resources devote to monitoring big rivers in remote locations, we propose a hypothesis driven, multi-scalar Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol that builds on past and present monitoring efforts on the Green and Yampa rivers in Dinosaur National Monument, the Gunnison River at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area and along the Colorado and Green Rivers in Canyonlands National Park. The design combines: 1) a park-wide remotely sensed inventory of geomorphic and vegetation change related to channel narrowing; 2) a spatially extensive field-based, rapid assessment of geomorphic and vegetation change on surfaces representing a range of susceptibility to channel narrowing ; 3) a detailed, quantitative field-based assessments of geomorphic and vegetation change at a small number of sites (sentinel sites) predicted to be sensitive to channel narrowing; and 4) the integration of sentinel sites with historical monitoring data and research at sites (legacy sites) that provide context and insight into dynamics of channel change and factors that drive this change.

significance of project

Channel narrowing has significant impact on resources of concerns for NPS units containing these big rivers and has placed emphasis on monitoring and managing their condition.

​Site Sensitivity on the Green and Yampa Rivers

related links and research

  • USGS: Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol Development

​Project Outputs

publications from this project

  • Scott ML, Perkins D, Wheaton JM and Macfarlane WW. In Prep. Big River Monitoring Protocol for Large, Remote, Canyon-bound Rivers. For Submission to: River Research and Applications.

project details

Project PI:  Joseph Wheaton, Michael Scott (co-PI)
Project Personnel from ET-AL: Wally Macfarlane
Project Collaborators:  Dustin Perkins (NPS), Tamara Nauman (NPS)
Funding Source: National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Monitoring Network
Project Start Date: Jan, 2012
Project End Date (anticipated): Jan 2013
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This work is licensed under a
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  • Home
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      • Research Scientists >
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        • Nicolaas Bouwes
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        • Connor Penrod
        • Rebecca Rossi
        • Sonya Welsh
      • Research Scientists >
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        • Kenny Demeurichy
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        • Joshua Gilbert
        • Jordan Gilbert
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        • Matt Meier
        • Chris Smith
        • Geoff Stevens
      • Visiting Scholars >
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  • FHC Projects
    • Current Projects >
      • Beaver Dam Censusing
      • Birch Creek Restoration
      • Escalante Watershed
      • BRAT 2018-2019 >
        • BRAT-Yakama
        • BRAT-John Day
        • BRAT-NF Burnt River
        • BRAT-Idaho
        • BRAT-Utah
        • BRAT-TNC
        • BRAT-GYA
        • Survey123
      • ELR: Asotin LWD Restoration and IMW
      • Price River Channel Analysis
    • Past Projects >
      • BLM >
        • BLM: Historic Sand Cliff Signatures Public Archeology Program
      • DOE: ICRRR >
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection 4.0 Software Development
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection in the Grand Canyon
        • DOE/ICRRR: MoRPHED PhD Studentship
      • Idaho Power Company >
        • Idaho Power: TLS Data Analysis
      • ELR >
        • ELR/BPA: CHaMP Grand Ronde Crew Variability Study
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Lemhi Topographic Survey Technique Intercomparison
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Bridge Creek Restoration & IMW
        • ELR/FHC/CTWS: Pine Creek Beaver Assisted Restoration Pilot Project
      • NSF >
        • NSF: zCloudTools: Making Point Clouds Useful for Earth Science
        • NSF: Sensitivity of Braided River Morphodynamics to Sediment Supply
      • UDWR >
        • UDWR: Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
      • USFS >
        • USFS Classification of Columbia River Basin Riparian Vegetation
        • USFS: Comparison of Traditional Versus Ground-Based LiDaR Instream Haibtat Assessments
        • USFS: Temple Fork Watershed Fish & Beaver Ecology
      • USGS >
        • USGS: Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol Development
        • USGS: Dynamism and Persistence of Eddy Sand Bars in Grand Canyon
        • USGS: Riparian Vegetation Analysis
        • USGS: Support in Geographic and Geomorphic Information Analysis for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
      • Other Sponsors (one off) >
        • BPA/SFR: Development of CHaMP Transformation Tool
        • GCT: Pilot Study: Testing the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
        • NOAA: Linking Fisheries,
        • NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites
        • USU: Tracking Ecogeomorphic Dynamics in Beaver Dam Complexes
    • Study Site Pages >
      • Bridge Creek >
        • 2009 BDSS Structures
        • Bridge Creek April 2010 Drone Survey
      • River Feshie >
        • The River Feshie Catchment
        • Our Research
        • The Team
        • Posters, Papers, & More
        • Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • ETAL Reading Group >
      • ETAL Reading Group Zotero Library
    • Courses & Workshops >
      • Courses & Workshops by Joe
    • Guides & Tips >
      • Figure Preparation Tutorials
      • Basic Computing Tips & Tricks >
        • Database & SQL Intro
        • Batch Unzip Script
        • Get a QR Code
        • GeoJSON
        • Markdown
        • Special Characters
        • USU VPN
      • GIS Help >
        • ArcGIS Education Edition
        • GIS Data Sources >
          • Connecting To The APFO Services
          • Connecting to the Utah AGRC Discover Imagery and Base Map Server
          • High Resolution Imagery for Utah State
      • How to Use Specific Software >
        • Adobe Illustrator >
          • Making GCD Figures for ET-AL Lab Using ArcGIS & Adobe Illustrator
        • ArcGIS Desktop - ArcMap >
          • GIS Tutorials
          • Creating DEMs, TINs and Terrains
          • How to divide polylines into a specified segment length
          • Simple Change Detection in ArcGIS
          • Working with Styles in ArcGIS
          • Fixing ActiveX Warning in ArcGIS 10.5
        • Box >
          • Migrating to Box Drive from Box Sync
        • EndNote >
          • EndNote X4 Basics
        • FastStone Capture
        • GitHub >
          • Make a GitHub Account
        • Picasa >
          • Geotagging images & making albums
        • Word >
          • Saving Word Documents as PDFs
          • Using Styles Effectively in Manuscripts & Reports
        • Zotero >
          • Adding from Browser
          • Cite-While-you-Write >
            • Citing in Google Docs
            • Cite in Word
      • Reccomended Software & Utilities
      • Surveying & Geomatics >
        • rtkGPS
      • Writing Resources >
        • Writing Literature Reviews (for Grads)
        • Writing Scientific Papers
        • Uploading Content to Research Gate
    • Lab Members Only >
      • Internal Resources >
        • When you First Start
        • Standard Software Suite
        • Lab Software License
        • Virtual Computing
        • Editing Workshop Flyers & Webpages
        • Travel
        • Vignettes
      • Internal FHC Announcements
      • FHC Workshops
      • ETAL Projects on Box
      • ETAL Non Project on Box
    • River Links >
      • Classification Schemes >
        • Eco-Geo-Hydro Mess
      • Free Literature
      • Rivers in the News
      • Videos & Galleries
  • Joe Wheaton