Climate Change Adaptation and Stream Restoration Change Adaptation and Stream Restoration ... pre-fabricated steel bridge ... pre-manufactured steel bridge 23 .

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Climate Change Adaptation and Stream Restoration

Jack Williams; [email protected]

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Goals for this presentation…

• Develop strategies for adapting streams to climate impacts by

– Thinking like a watershed

– Understanding climate change impacts to watershed function

– Building resistance and resilience to habitats and trout populations

– Preparing streams for flooding

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What makes stream systems so special?

Linear habitats

Networked but easily fragmented

Subjected to disturbances from aquatic and terrestrial environments

Multi- dimensional connectivity

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Watershed Function

• Receive

• store

• release water

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Important habitats for improving watershed function for stream resiliency

• Riparian areas

• Wetlands

• Mountain meadows

• Floodplains

• Stream channels

• Intermittent streams

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Even small, intermittent streams can be crucial

The importance of intermittent streams to developing cold-water patches in receiving warm rivers.

Cold-water patches present at 53% (36 of 68) of tributary confluences – even when surface stream channels were dry.

Ebersole, J.L. et al. 2015. Predicting the occurrence of cold-water patches at intermittent and ephemeral tributary confluences with warm rivers. Freshwater Science 34:111-124.

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Kaushal et al. 2010: Rising stream and river temperatures in the U.S. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 8:461-466.

1960s to 2007

• Hudson River

• Delaware River

• Brandywine Creek

• Gunpowder River

• Potomac River

• Patuxent River

Combination of increased urbanization and climate change

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Increasing large storms: largest storm at each station increased average of 10% from 1948 - 2012

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Change in heavy precipitation: 1958 - 2011

Response to Tropical Storm Irene and Repeated New England Flooding: 2011

Disturbances and human

responses to disturbance

extend across jurisdictions

and far downstream

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What does this mean for the Northeast?

1958-2012

2041-2070 average

1971-2000 average

• Warmer temperatures

• More heavy precipitation events

• Rising sea level

Source: National Climate Assessment, 2014

What to do? • Increase resilience in trout populations and habitats

– Increase small populations

– Increase cold-water refuge habitats

– Improve habitat conditions

• Reconnect stream network

• Remove existing stressors

• Increase redundancy – number and distribution of populations

Resilience: the capacity of a system to respond to disturbance by resisting damage

and recover quickly

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Increasing stream resilience to disturbance

Disturbance Strategy Restoration Action

Drought Keep water in headwaters longer; connect and recharge aquifers; and increase refuge habitat

1. Restore headwater meadows and wetlands 2. Increase meanders 3. Increase the number and size of deep pools

Floods Increase natural capacity of streamside habitats to absorb and dissipate increased flows

1. Reconnect and restore floodplains 2. Improve culverts for higher flows

Wildfire Create large wet zones along stream that are resistant to burning; increase width of riparian and wet meadow areas

1. Increase width and lushness of riparian areas 2. Slow flows, remeander to increase shallow groundwater in meadows 3. Introduce beavers

Middle Farrer Brook culvert removal November 6—7, 2007

Before (looking upstream)

5’ diameter CMP; 2.8’ drop

After (looking downstream)

After (looking upstream)

Road retired; valley fill removed

Before (looking downstream) 16

Long Mountain Brook culvert replacement September 22—29, 2008

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Long Mountain Brook culvert replacement

Before – September 22, 2008 (looking upstream)

6’ diameter pipe; 1.2’ drop

After – September 29, 2008 (looking upstream)

22’ x 8’ embedded aluminum box

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Lower Pike Brook culvert removal November 5, 2008

Before (looking downstream)

7’ diameter pipe; 1.0’ drop (at inlet)


Road retired; valley fill removed

Before (looking upstream) After (looking upstream) 19

Johnson Brook culvert remediation June 22—24, 2009

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Johnson Brook culvert remediation June 22—24, 2009

Before (looking downstream)



26’ clear span; pre-fabricated steel bridge

Before (looking upstream) After (looking upstream) 21

Slide Brook culvert remediation May 12—26, 2010

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Slide Brook culvert remediation May 12—26, 2010

Before – July 20, 2006 (looking upstream)


After – May 26, 2010 (looking upstream)

42’ clear span; pre-manufactured steel bridge

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Upper Farrer Brook culvert remediation August 23—24, 2010

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Before – August 23, 2010 (looking upstream)

Two 2’ diameter CMPs; 0.9’ drop

After – August 24, 2010 (looking upstream)

26’ clear span bridge installed upstream; fill removed

Upper Farrer Brook culvert remediation

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Project Design: Crow Creek, Idaho

• Yellowstone cutthroat

• Channel straightened for hay cultivation

• Loss of habitat, especially pools

• Increased summer temps

• More frequent flooding and erosion

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Photo of Crow Creek just after diversion of water into new channel

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Crow Creek Restoration Results

Stream Gradient (%)

Sinuosity Stream Length (ft.)

Number of Pools

Before 0.7 1.1 3,304 9

After 0.4 2.4 6,474 86

Maggie Creek – historically a large interconnected LCT system

Decades of intense hot season

grazing

Fragmentation from

culvert barriers

1993 BLM, Newmont Mining Corps and

several and private ranches initiated

the Maggie Creek Watershed

Restoration Project (MCWRP)

Goal: enhance 82 miles of stream

and 2000 acres riparian habitat

and 40000 acres of upland areas

•Fencing

•Prescription grazing

•Seeding/planting

1980

2011

Mainstem Maggie

Creek

1980

2011

32 Open Range

Consulting

Remote sensing to document project effectiveness

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BLM/TU on-the-ground monitoring

• Increased sinuosity

• Increased riparian vegetation

• Development of quality pools

• Improved channel substrates

• Narrowing and deepening of the stream channel

Mainstem 1980 2006 2011

Sediment capture has improved greatly

Newmont Mines, Inc

One other very important

partner…

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Lahontan cutthroat trout habitat in southeastern Oregon following Holloway wildfire: 245,505 acres burned

Left: stream segment without beavers; right: with beavers

All culverts replaced

in fall 2005

x Beaver was completely

isolated = focal stream

Beaver creek before culvert removal

Beaver creek after culvert removal

Presence of larger, migratory Lahontans

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We can improve water supplies through stream and wetland restoration

• Improving water quality by slowing flows, improving riparian function and decreasing erosion

• Improving timing of water delivery and late-season stream flow by holding water in headwaters and mountain tops for longer periods

• Increasing resistance to floods and drought by reconnecting streams to floodplains and restoring wetlands

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My thanks to the following…

• BLM, Elko District

• U.S. Forest Service

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

• Open Range Consulting

• My co-authors Helen Neville, Amy Haak, Warren Colyer, Seth Wenger, Stan Bradshaw

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