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Final Report: Integrating Salmon Habitat Restoration and Flood Hazard Initiatives: Societal/Biophysical Estimators for the Cedar River and Implications for Regional Rivers
EPA Grant Number: R827149Title: Integrating Salmon Habitat Restoration and Flood Hazard Initiatives: Societal/Biophysical Estimators for the Cedar River and Implications for Regional Rivers
Investigators: Wissmar, Robert C. , Fluharty, David L. , Leschine, Thomas M. , Montgomery, Melissa , Timm, Raymond K.
Institution: University of Washington - Seattle
EPA Project Officer: Stelz, Bill
Project Period: February 1, 1999 through January 31, 2002 (Extended to January 31, 2003)
Project Amount: $749,991
RFA: Water and Watersheds (1998)
Research Category: Water and Watersheds
Description:
Objective:The overall goal of this research project was to understand the socioeconomic interactions that influence biophysical functions and priorities for habitat restoration and protection. The project evaluated how policy and management of land and water uses influence river ecosystems, riparian and stream habitats, fish populations, and human systems of the lower Cedar River Basin near Seattle, WA. The specific objectives of this research project were to: (1) understand how retrospective and contemporary societal, policy, and environmental forces influence the current environment; (2) develop the ability to assess and anticipate biophysical and human system responses; and (3) formulate and examine the effectiveness of policies for restoring damaged river and floodplain ecosystems.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):This final report summarizes interdisciplinary research that evaluated the influences of societal and biophysical factors on public perspectives and habitat management activities related to restoration, watershed ecology, hydrology, and human uses. This research project was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Science To Achieve Results program, and involved several interacting societal and watershed components and their investigation by two disciplines: societal factors (School of Marine Affairs) and biophysical factors (School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences). This final report summary includes overviews of research integration, activities, and findings of linked studies of societal and biophysical forces acting within the lower Cedar River drainage near Seattle. We discuss how we assessed recent changes in land uses, hydrology, and fish habitats within the Cedar River drainage and the realities of improving river ecosystems, given policy and management requirements and public opinion.
The study area, the lower Cedar River drainage, has been greatly modified by human activities. Highly altered channels, floodplains, and tributary watersheds occur along approximately 34 km of the lowland reaches of the river channel. Our research indicates that historical forest harvest and settlement patterns along with recent urban expansion—in terms of land conversions, flow regulation, flood control, and transportation facilities—have caused increases in peak flow events, changes in fish and wildlife communities, and extensive losses of aquatic and riparian habitats.
Our research approach included integrated biophysical and societal analyses that assess changes in land uses, hydrology, and fish habitats and the reality of meeting management requirements for habitat and salmon recovery. Models were developed that facilitate the evaluation of how biophysical and societal factors interact under different degrees of urbanization within watersheds of the Cedar River drainage. A series of quantitative-spatial models incorporate different land cover, physiographic, hydrology, and ecological processes and social factors that are relevant to policy and management actions. Four inter-related societal analyses identify institutional and public actions and perceptions that influence the protection and restoration of salmon and their habitats.
A conceptual model of the "system" under study guided research coordination. The model defined a level of generality sufficient to encompass both biophysical and human elements (e.g., social values, policy, and management activities) that reflect real-world situations. This model facilitated formal and informal integration activities across the societal and biophysical domains of the project. The integration that emerged became a significant determinant of this research project's overall scope and direction. Our most effective approaches evolved over the course of the research project in ways not anticipated when the proposal was submitted. We found that formal and informal coordination processes were both important, and that loosely defined linkages were as valuable as more formalized tight couplings. In closing, our emphasis on exploring research questions in spatially explicit ways has greatly facilitated the integration and evolution of our research. We believe that our modeling and integration efforts provide products that will improve decisionmaking and environmental planning processes. For example, we have contributed to the literature on restoration discourse, watershed hydrology, and fish uses of restored habitats; developed criteria for cumulative impacts assessment; analyzed the institutions acting to preserve salmon and their habitats; and generated a wealth of information on public perceptions toward protection and restoration management activities within the Cedar River drainage.
Journal Articles on this Report: 6 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 38 publications | 7 publications in selected types | All 7 journal articles |
| Type | Citation | ||
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Hall JL, Wissmar RC. Habitat factors affecting sockeye salmon redd site selection in off-channel ponds of a river floodplain. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 2004;133(6):1480-1496 |
R827149 (Final) |
not available |
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Hall JL, Wissmar RC, Beauchamp DA. A bioenergetic comparison of sockeye salmon rearing conditions in off-channel pond and lake habitats. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. |
R827149 (Final) |
not available |
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Logsdon MG, Timm RK, Wissmar RC, Storck P, Pflugh DC. Variation of impervious areas and urban watershed hydrology. Journal of Environmental Quality and Management. |
R827149 (2001) R827149 (Final) |
not available |
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Timm RK, Wissm RC, Small JW, Leschine TM, Lucchetti G. A Screening Procedure for prioritizing riparian management. Environmental Management 2003; 33, (1): 151-161. |
R827149 (2001) R827149 (Final) |
not available |
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Wissmar RC, Timm RK, Logsdon MG. Effects of changing forest and impervious land covers on discharge characteristics of watersheds. Environmental Management. 2004;34(1):91-98. |
R827149 (Final) |
not available |
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Wissmar RC, Beer WN, Timm RK. Spatially explicit estimates of erosion-risk indices and variable riparian buffer widths in watersheds. Aquatic Sciences 2004; 66:446-455 |
R827149 (Final) |
not available |
watersheds, risk, restoration, decisionmaking, ecology, Northwest, ecosystem protection, environmental exposure and risk, geographic area, water, aquatic ecosystem restoration, chemical mixtures, ecological effects, human health, ecological indicators, ecology and ecosystems, hydrology, state, water and watersheds, wet weather flows, exploratory research environmental biology, Washington, WA, aquatic ecosystem, aquatic habitat protection, conservation, ecological recovery, environmental restoration, fish habitat, flood hazard initiatives, flood control, floodplain ecosystem, public policy, restoration planning, restoration strategies, riparian ecosystem integrity, riparian habitat, riparian zone conditions, risk assessment, river ecosystems, salmon habitat restoration, suburban watersheds, urban development, urban stream rehabilitation, watershed restoration. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Water & Watershed, Restoration, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Wet Weather Flows, Hydrology, Watersheds, Ecology and Ecosystems, State, risk assessment, aquatic ecosystem, wildlife habitat, public policy, watershed restoration, Washington (WA), riparian zone conditions, aquatic habitat protection , fish habitat, flood hazard initiatives, ecological recovery, riparian ecosystem integrity, conservation, salmon habitat restoration, suburban watersheds, urban development, fllod hazard initiatives, aquatic ecosystems, flood control, riparian habitat, floodplain ecosystems, floodplain ecosystem, restoration strategies, restoration planning, river ecosystems, urban stream rehabilitation
Relevant Websites:
http://www.fish.washington.edu/people/wissmar/ 
http://fish.washington.edu/
http://www.sma.washington.edu/
http://faculty.washington.edu/tml/cedar/index.html
http://www.cofs.washington.edu/about/initiatives.html
http://www.prism.washington.edu/
http://depts.washington.edu/uwren/
http://www.washington.edu/
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/esa/salmon_brink.htm
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/esa/index.htm
http://www.seattle.gov/util/services/
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/WTD/wetland79/index.htm
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/BASINS/cedarpln.htm
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?station=12117600
Progress and Final Reports:
1999 Progress Report
2000 Progress Report
2001 Progress Report
Original Abstract