SFS Annual Meeting

5/20/2019  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  151 ABC

THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL FLUVIAL PROCESSES TO DESIGN SUCCESSFUL RESTORATION PROJECTS It is increasingly recognized that successful river restoration projects should aim at restoring natural fluvial processes, including flooding and bank erosion. These processes also allow for riparian wetlands to be created through meander dynamics. Such a restoration approach is at the heart of the “freedom space for rivers” concept developed in the last decade in Quebec (Canada), which defines the minimal and functional space required for flooding and mobility processes to operate. Many ecological benefits result from this approach, such as enhanced fish habitat diversity and cooler temperature during hot summer months through both connection to riparian wetlands and the presence of in-stream and riparian vegetation. Despite this knowledge, the current restoration guidelines in Quebec are still primarily species based (mainly for salmonids), so implementing process-based concepts is a challenge that requires both bottom up and top down changes in policies. Examples of recent restoration projects based on freedom space concepts will be presented, including in small agricultural straightened streams which reveal great restoration potential associated with former meanders.

Pascale Biron (Primary Presenter/Author), Concordia University, pascale.biron@concordia.ca;


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5/20/2019  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  151 ABC

RELATIVE CONTROLS ON STREAM TEMPERATURE FROM SHADE, LAND USE, AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN BASINS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA Stream temperature is controlled by many factors including a landscape’s geology, climate, and human alterations. Our study compares the relative importance of these factors in controlling stream temperature using a statistical modelling framework for three study catchments in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We tested dozens of competing and alternate covariates which include representations of landscape geology, climate, and land use, as well as covariates with potential management implications to see which were significant in predicting observed stream temperatures. To do this, spatial stream network models were fit with these covariate combinations and a modified best subsets analysis selected among different models (using Akaike Information Criterion – AIC – as a model diagnostic statistic) to find a suite of best models. Using this suite of best models, model-averaging methods predicted stream temperatures under a variety of management plan scenarios. These predictions demonstrate how much water temperatures might shift under different restoration scenarios (e.g., channel width restoration, reduced agricultural water use, or riparian shade restoration). The results of this research provide information on the alternate mechanisms potentially controlling stream temperature and could help advise decisions for future temperature management plans.

Naomi Detenbeck (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. EPA/ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, Detenbeck.Naomi@epa.gov;


Peter Leinenbach (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, leinenbach.peter@epa.gov;


Rochelle Labiosa (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Environmental Protection Agency, labiosa.rochelle@epa.gov;


Daniel Isaak (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Research and Development, United States Forest Service, Boise, Idaho 83702, disaak@fs.fed.us;


Matthew Fuller (Primary Presenter/Author), ORISE postdoc with US EPA/Atlantic Ecology Division, matthew.robert.fuller@gmail.com;


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5/20/2019  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  151 ABC

IS SHADING FLOODPLAIN SEDIMENTS IMPORTANT FOR STREAM CHANNEL TEMPERATURES? In 2011, Meacham Creek (Umatilla Basin, Oregon, USA) underwent a restoration effort reconnecting the stream channel to its historic floodplain – with the intent of increasing hyporheic exchange to cool summertime stream temperatures. In response to the restoration, floodplain well data showed an immediate increase in water level in the associated alluvial aquifer. Additionally, post-restoration simulation modeling showed hyporheic exchange rate and heat transfer to the aquifer increased. Paradoxically, summertime stream temperatures were warmer in the years that followed the restoration. During the restoration, much of the floodplain vegetation was removed for heavy equipment access. We hypothesized that associated loss of shade in the stream corridor warmed channel temperatures directly via increased solar radiation on the stream surface, and also indirectly via increased heat conduction into the hyporheic zone through exposed floodplain sediments. We examined the potential effects of reduced floodplain shade on channel and hyporheic temperature using a stream and aquifer heat budget model, with and without floodplain shade. Where hyporheic zones extend laterally from the channel, management of floodplain shade, in addition to streamside shade, may have important implications for channel water temperature dynamics.

Katie Fogg (Primary Presenter/Author), Montana State University, s.katie.fogg@gmail.com;


Geoffrey Poole (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Montana State University, Montana Institute on Ecosystems, gpoole@montana.edu ;


Ann Marie Reinhold (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Montana State University, Montana Institute on Ecosystems, reinhold@montana.edu;


Scott O'Daniel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Confederated Umatilla Tribes, scottodaniel@ctuir.org;


Byron Amerson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Montana State University, byron.amerson@gmail.com;


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5/20/2019  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  151 ABC

IMPACTS OF SMALL, LOW-HEAD DAMS ON STREAM MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES Small, former mill dams are prevalent in the northeastern USA, creating abrupt discontinuities in habitat and water quality and fragmenting biotic assemblages. These dams are variable in their spatial and temporal impacts on water quality, geomorphology, and, presumably, biota. We compared macroinvertebrate assemblages within upstream reaches, dam-created impoundments, and downstream reaches at 12 dam sites across multiple years with corresponding temperature, dissolved oxygen, and habitat data. The impact of dams on stream macroinvertebrates varied among streams, with expected losses of species, reductions in biotic integrity, and increases in warmwater taxa downstream of dams evident at only a few sites. The lack of patterned responses suggests that the impacts of dams on water quality and habitat may not be sufficient to affect macroinvertebrates or that other factors obscure effects of the dams. Although impacts in stream reaches were limited, the impounded area created by dams contained a different macroinvertebrate assemblage than free-flowing stream reaches, and we have documented the loss of common stream-dwelling taxa in impoundments. An understanding of variable responses to dams and mechanisms of impact may help prioritize dam removal and set expectations for restoration.

Allison Roy (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Massachusetts Amherst, aroy@eco.umass.edu;


Katherine Abbott (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Massachusetts Amherst, kmabbott@umass.edu;


Michael Cole (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cole Ecological, Inc., mikebcole@comcast.net;


Kristopher Houle (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, kris.houle@mass.gov;


Keith Nislow (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, University of Massachusetts Amherst, keith.nislow@usda.gov;


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5/20/2019  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  151 ABC

ADVANCING STREAM TEMPERATURE MODELING USING TOPO-BATHYMETRY LIDAR AND THERMAL INFRARED DATA Airborne thermal infrared (TIR) and topographic lidar are essential data sources for studying stream temperature regimes and restoration designs. The combination of these technologies provides valuable high-resolution, spatially explicit information to identify stream thermal refugia, cold/warm inflows, riparian vegetation, above-water terrain, and the associated parameters for solar loading and shading. However, submerged channel morphology has remained reliant on extensive on-site fieldwork efforts to augment remote sensing data. Such field-based survey efforts, to collect channel transects for example, are time-consuming, costly, and limited to accessible sites along the stream yielding sporadic, low resolution data. Recent developments in lidar technology have introduced a new generation of topo-bathymetric sensors, which combines near-infrared (NIR) and green wavelength laser technology (green wavelength laser penetrates the water column in shallow water environments). This new technology not only reduces the required fieldwork, but also provides high-resolution maps of terrestrial and in-stream digital elevation models. In turn, the need for field-collected channel transect are theoretically eliminated. In this presentation, Quantum Spatial will showcase examples of utilizing topo-bathymetry lidar data in stream temperature models, highlighting the opportunities to improve our understanding of the processes dictating in-stream conditions.

Mousa Diabat (Primary Presenter/Author), Quantum Spatial Inc., mdiabat@quantumspatial.com;


Brian Kasper (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Quantum Spatial Inc., bkasper@quantumspatial.com;


Cassie Meigs (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Quantum Spatial Inc., cmeigs@quantumspatial.com;


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5/20/2019  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  151 ABC

BUILDING A SPATIAL STATISTICAL NETWORK MODEL OF STREAM TEMPERATURE TO GUIDE RESTORATION DECISIONS IN AN INTERNATIONAL WATERSHED The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI) are working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to build a stream temperature spatial statistical network (SSN) model of the Meduxnekeag Watershed. The Meduxnekeag Watershed is a 1336 km2 watershed that flows through Maliseet tribal lands and is split by international boundaries with headwaters in Maine, United States and the confluence with the St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada. Modelling across international boundaries creates challenges because datasets are usually constrained to political boundaries, and data resolution and collection methods can differ between countries. The 2017 release of the High Resolution National Hydrology Dataset Plus includes watersheds that cross international boundaries, which enables creating SSN temperature models at riparian buffer management scales in the Meduxnekeag Watershed. The model was developed using 53 stream temperature monitoring stations throughout the watershed and watershed attribute data from both the United States and Canada. HBMI will use the model to determine the location of cold water refuges and to select areas for riparian restoration to expand habitat for Brook Trout and restoring Atlantic Salmon populations.

Stephanie Figary (Primary Presenter/Author), ORISE Research Participant at the USEPA EPA/ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, figary.stephanie@epa.gov;


Naomi Detenbeck (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. EPA/ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, Detenbeck.Naomi@epa.gov;


Cara O'Donnell (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, , water@maliseets.com;


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