5/19/2015  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  101CD

AN ASSESSMENT OF BARRIERS TO FISH PASSAGE IN STREAMS AND RIVERS OF THE UPPER MIDWEST U.S. CAUSED BY ROADWAY CULVERTS AND BRIDGES The extent to which roadway culverts and bridges fragment streams and rivers is a relatively recent concern and is poorly understood. I used a random sample of 100 roadway crossings of perennial streams and rivers in the Driftless Area ecoregion to estimate the frequency of occurrence of various barrier types and total number of stream crossing structures in the region that were barriers to fish passage. Study findings indicate 8% of all crossings in the Driftless Area were complete barriers to fish passage, 25% of crossings were barriers to species and sizes of fish with lower sustained swim speeds or that avoid or cannot swim in water < 6 cm deep, 23% of the crossings were temporary water velocity barriers occurring during high stream flows, and 44% of the crossings were not barriers to fish passage. Using crossing structures that simulate natural stream beds or have open bottoms that expose stream bed substrates and that are of sufficient size to accommodate bankfull stream flow volumes would significantly reduce the occurrence of fish passage barriers in the Driftless Area ecoregion.

michael miller (Primary Presenter/Author), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, michaela.miller@wisconsin.gov;

5/19/2015  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  101CD

RULES OF THUMB FOR PRIORITIZING BARRIER REMOVALS EMERGING FROM COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF GREAT LAKES TRIBUTARIES In most river networks, both dams and road crossings fragment habitat and impede fish migrations. Because removing these barriers is a costly process and resources are limited, tools are needed to guide prioritization of potential projects. We developed a mathematical optimization model for barrier removals in the Great Lakes basin and an associated online decision support tool (DST) designed for agency and NGO staff. The prioritization model weighs estimated cost of replacing each dam or culvert against length of upstream channel gained, and finds the portfolio of projects that maximizes habitat gains for a given budget. We parameterized this model using a recently-developed dataset describing the location, passability and estimated removal costs of hundreds of thousands of barriers. Across a broad range of budgets, we identify landscape-based predictors for whether barriers are recommended for removal. These patterns offer useful rules of thumb for decision-making even in regions where mapping and optimization modeling is impractical. We also present our online DST, which allows users to view barrier dataset, process subsets of barriers using the optimization model, and update the database.

Allison Moody (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Wisconsin, atmoody@gmail.com;


Thomas Neeson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Oklahoma, neeson@ou.edu;


Margaret Guyette (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), St. Johns River Water Management District, mguyette@sjrwmd.com;


Matthew Diebel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, matthew.diebel@wisconsin.gov;


Matthew Herbert (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mherbert@tnc.org;


Mary Khoury (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mkhoury@tnc.org;


Eugene Yacobson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, eyacobson@tnc.org;


Patrick Doran (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, pdoran@tnc.org;


Michael Ferris (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin, ferris@cs.wisc.edu;


Jesse O'Hanley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kent, j.ohanley@kent.ac.uk;


Peter B. McIntyre (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, pbm3@cornell.ecu;

5/19/2015  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  101CD

PRIORITIZING BARRIER REMOVALS TO RESTORE NATIVE FISH MIGRATIONS IN GREAT LAKES TRIBUTARIES Tributaries to the Great Lakes are highly fragmented by dams and road crossings that act as potential barriers to migratory fishes, restricting their access to historical riverine spawning grounds. There is growing investment in removing or modifying barriers to restore native fish migrations and ecosystem function, but these efforts may also increase available habitat for invasive species like sea lampreys. The restoration community lacks a systematic method for comparing these costs and benefits to assess which barrier removal projects would offer the greatest return on investment. To address this problem, we developed a mathematical optimization model to prioritize barriers for removal across the entire Great Lakes basin based on trading off breeding habitat for native versus invasive fishes. We parameterized this model using a recently developed database of hundreds of thousands of barrier locations, passabilities and removal costs. We describe the optimal trade-offs between native migratory fishes and sea lampreys that would accompany numerous barrier removal scenarios. We will discuss the sensitivity of the model to uncertainty in our estimates of the suitability of tributaries for native and invasive species.

Thomas Neeson (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Oklahoma, neeson@ou.edu;


Allison Moody (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin, atmoody@gmail.com;


Margaret Guyette (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), St. Johns River Water Management District, mguyette@sjrwmd.com;


Matthew Diebel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, matthew.diebel@wisconsin.gov;


Matthew Herbert (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mherbert@tnc.org;


Mary Khoury (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mkhoury@tnc.org;


Eugene Yacobson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, eyacobson@tnc.org;


Patrick Doran (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, pdoran@tnc.org;


Michael Ferris (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin, ferris@cs.wisc.edu;


Jesse O'Hanley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kent, j.ohanley@kent.ac.uk;


Peter B. McIntyre (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, pbm3@cornell.ecu;

5/19/2015  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  101CD

PRIORITIZING STREAMS FOR PROTECTION AND RESTORATION USING A HOUSE-NEIGHBORHOOD FRAMEWORK: A CASE STUDY IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS Restoration success can be limited by the availability of nearby dispersal sources. Recognizing this, Merovich et al. (2013) proposed a house-neighborhood approach to freshwater stream conservation: For restoration, they prioritized poor-quality stream reaches (“houses”) in good-quality watersheds (“neighborhoods”), and for protection, good-quality stream reaches in poor-quality watersheds. We modified this approach for streams in highly urbanized Cook County, Illinois. Using random forests regression with GIS-derived landscape explanatory variables, we predicted fish species richness (R² = 0.30), mussel species richness (R² = 0.49), and a fish-based index of biotic integrity (R² = 0.40) for all inland stream reaches in the county. We then developed and applied three metrics to rank reaches according to their potential for (1) biodiversity protection, (2) dispersal source protection, and (3) restoration. The latter two metrics acknowledge the conservation importance of distance-dependent dispersal along dendritic stream networks by considering both the quality of a stream reach per se and the quality of its network neighbors. Ranking stream reaches with these metrics can help to identify sites at which conservation actions are likely to deliver the greatest results.

Timothy Lambert (Primary Presenter/Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, tlambert@illinois.edu;


Leon Hinz Jr. (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, leon.hinz@illinois.gov;


Yong Cao (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, University of illinois, yongcao@illinois.edu;

5/19/2015  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  101CD

DOES SITE-SCALE STREAM RESTORATION MAKE A DIFFERENCE OVER TIME? Each year time and money are invested to restore historically degraded streams; however, many resource agencies and conservation organizations are unable to dedicate sufficient resources to monitor and evaluate these restoration efforts. Consequently, there are only a limited number of examples that illustrate how restoration practices impact stream habitat and communities over time. This project examined how stream habitat and communities in the upper Blue River, WI responded to Trout Unlimited restoration efforts over an eleven year period. In-stream habitat, macroinvertebrates, and fish were sampled at 11 different sites along the Blue River from 2004-2014. Pre-restoration surveys were compared to post-restoration surveys collected at regular intervals following restoration. Restored sites were also compared to completely unrestored sites located within the same stream section and sampled at the same intervals. Results suggest that stream habitat and communities respond rapidly to restoration and then go through continuous adjustments as time goes on. Not surprisingly, such impacts of restoration are predicated on the continued land-use management.

Kristopher Wright (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Wisconsin-Platteville, wrightk@uwplatt.edu;

5/19/2015  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  101CD

THE USE OF BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE TOLERANCE VALUES IN COLORADO'S 2014 SEDIMENT GUIDANCE The State of Colorado formed a technical advisory committee of stakeholders and state personnel to support a revision of its 1998 sediment guidance for implementation of its narrative standard. The new method, finalized in 2014, determines if fine sediments are having a detrimental effect on aquatic life and includes three components related to benthic invertebrates: percent fines as a measure of sediment deposition, overall Tolerance Indicator Value (TIV) calculated for each site based on the inferred sediment tolerance of the macroinvertebrate taxa present, watershed review. TIVs have been widely used in benthic invertebrate bioassessments throughout the United States as generalized indicators of stress; recently the focus has been on designing TIVs that are specific to certain stressors such as fine sediments. Threshold values for the percent fines and overall TIV for a site were developed and specific to three “sediment regions” in Colorado to ensure the range of conditions that occur were addressed. In addition, the new policy includes a separate threshold that assesses the percentage of fines in salmonid spawning habitat to ensure such habitats are protected.

Kimberly Gerlock (Primary Presenter/Author), GEI Consultants, Inc., kgerlock@geiconsultants.com;


Shaun Roark (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), GEI Consultants, Inc., sroark@geiconsultants.com;


Jeniffer Lynch (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), GEI Consultants, Inc., jlynch@geiconsultants.com;