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USGS: Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol Development

Project Type:  Sponsored Research
Project Sponsor:  USGS & National Park Service
Project Location: Dinosaur National Monument
Status:   Ongoing (through NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites & Quantifying Short-Term Effects of High Flows on Riparian Vegetation along the Yampa & Green Rivers)
​

project overview

purpose of project

This project was geared towards testing and developing a new way for monitoring the riparian coridors of big canyon-bound rivers (e.g. Yampa Gorge, Gates of Ladore). These rivers are very challenging to conduct monitoring in because of their remote nature and limited access (typically only by boat). They are also important natural and recreational resources that are very sensitive to potential changes in climate and flow regime. ​

importance

'In several Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) national parks, big rivers and their associated riparian zones provide habitat for federally listed terrestrial and aquatic species, are intimately associated with unique geologic features cited in enabling legislation, and are major recreation destinations. As an increasing human population fuels increased demands for Colorado River (CR) water in states across the West, streamflow in virtually all rivers within the CR drainage has been altered by water development projects. In most cases, peak flows have been reduced, resulting in channel narrowing, geomorphic simplification, and loss of riparian structure and
related biological diversity. In response to these concerns, the NCPN is implementing a big rivers monitoring program at four network parks: Dinosaur NM, which provides a unique paired experiment with the Yampa River (the longest relatively freeflowing
river reach in the CR basin) and Green River (highly regulated by Flaming Gorge Dam); Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP and Curecanti NRA, where the Gunnison flows; and
Canyonlands NP, where the Colorado and Green rivers meet.' - from Monitoring Brief
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long-term monitoring

'Building on past and present monitoring efforts, the NCPN is designing a hypothesis-driven, multi-scalar monitoring protocol that links frequent, field-based rapid assessments; existing independent data sets; and infrequent, quantitative evaluations of broad-scale changes using remotely sensed data. 
We hypothesize that with anticipated climate change and increasing human demands on regional water resources, streamflow regimes will shift in response to (1) more droughts and bigger floods and (2) more droughts and fewer, smaller floods because of water resource development. These shifts may lead to channel narrowing through vegetation encroachment and stabilization of formerly active channel deposits and the building of new floodplain surfaces by lateral and vertical deposition of alluvial sediments.'  - from Monitoring Brief

​To test that hypothesis, we will:
  1. At a broad spatial scale, conduct a baseline inventory of sites hypothesized to be very sensitive, sensitive, and insensitive to channel narrowing (or expansion).
  2. Via float trips, conduct rapid assessments of the condition of hypothesized sensitive and insensitive sites.
  3. Establish sentinel monitoring sites at pre-identified sensitive or very sensitive sites, opportunistically selecting
  4. Opportunistically integrate elements 1–3 above with legacy monitoring sites established by previous researchers.
The protocol is designed to be agile enough to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, as well as possible fiscal opportunities or constraints.' - from Monitoring Brief

management applications

'Early detection and quantification of the channel-narrowing process would allow National Park Service managers to (1) negotiate with water users in the case of human-caused flow depletions and related channel narrowing, and (2) identify reaches sensitive to narrowing so that management actions
could be implemented in a more efficient and cost-effective way.' - from Monitoring Brief

preliminary conclusions/ future work

The Big River Monitoring protocol is now actively being implemented and tested by the NPS, USGS and USU. ​

related links & research

  • NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites & Quantifying Short-Term Effects of High Flows on Riparian Vegetation along the Yampa & Green Rivers
  • USGS: Riparian Vegetation Analysis
  • Northern Colorado Plateau Network

project outputs

Publications from this Project
  • Manners RB**, Schmidt J and Wheaton JM. Accepted/Revisions in Review. Multi-scalar model for the determination of spatially explicit riparian vegetation roughness. Submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface. 
  • Scott ML, Perkins DL and Wheaton J. 2012. Final Report: Big River Protocol Development – A Prototype Warranty Project, USGS, Fort Colins, CO, 198 pp.
Software or Tools from this Project
  • Big River Monitoring Protocol
    • Scott ML, Perkins DL and Wheaton J. 2012. Final Report: Big River Protocol Development – A Prototype Warranty Project, USGS, Fort Colins, CO, 198 pp.
  • Data Apps forthcoming
Datasets from this Project
  • TLS
    • Deerlodge - 2010 & 2011 
    • Laddie Park - 2009 (whole site) & 2010 (patches only)
    • Whirlpool - 2009 (whole site) & 2010 (patches only)
  • ALS (from different project)
    • 2008
    • 2010
    • 2011 (river corridor throughout park)

project details

Project PI:  Joseph Wheaton
Project Personnel from ET-AL: Wally Macfarlane
Project Collaborators: Micahel Scott (USGS), Dusty Perkins (NPS), Rebecca Manners (USU), Jack Schmidt (USU, USGS)
Funding Source: USGS
Project Start Date: September, 2009
Project End Date (anticipated): December, 2011
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This work is licensed under a
​ 
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  • Home
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      • Karen Bartelt
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      • Research Scientists >
        • Joe Wheaton
        • Nicolaas Bouwes
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        • Stephen Bennett
      • Technicians >
        • Cashe Rasmussen
        • Chalese Hafen
        • Dylan Baum >
          • Brian Ferrara
    • Where are they now? >
      • Former Graduate Students >
        • Sara Bangen
        • Reid Camp
        • Florence Consolati
        • Daniel Hamill
        • Konrad Hafen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Nate Hough-Snee
        • Alan Kasprak
        • Martha Jensen
        • Ryan Lokteff
        • Connor Penrod
        • Rebecca Rossi
        • Sonya Welsh
      • Research Scientists >
        • Sara Bangen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Natalie Kramer
        • Pete McHugh
        • Elijah Portugal
        • Carl Saunders
        • Eric Wall
        • Gary O'Brien
      • Post-Docs >
        • Nicole Czarnomski
      • Technicians >
        • Micael Albonico
        • Braden Anderson
        • Adan Banda
        • Jordan Burningham
        • Kenny Demeurichy
        • Taylor Dudunake
        • Martha Jensen
        • Joshua Gilbert
        • Jordan Gilbert
        • Thomas Hafen
        • Landon Haycock
        • Matt Meier
        • Chris Smith
        • Geoff Stevens
      • Visiting Scholars >
        • Ester Ramos
  • 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