Andrew Carter
Tim Morse
Garrett Bergey
Erin Affronti
Risks Associated with Management for Water Yield within The Platte River.
External Sponsor/advisor: There are several external sponsors/advisors that we will consult while working on the project. Those advisors include but are not limited to Dr. Beverly Wemple of the University of Vermont and Drew Peternell of the Colorado Water Project and Trout Unlimited.
Problem Statement: Due to increasing water demands on the Platte River, land managers are proposing forestry practices such as logging, chaining or burning to increase water yield; however there are several ecological risks associated with them such as, long term decrease of water yield, loss of habitat and of sustainable logging revenue.
There are numerous ecological risks associated with forestry practices aiming to increase water yield (such as logging, chaining, or burning) proposed by land managers in response to increasing anthropogenic demands on the Platte River of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
Goal/Purpose Statement: The goal of this project is to assess the practices (mentioned above) suggested by land managers to appease the issue of water scarcity on the Platte river. In addition, it is to be determined if the benefits of these practices outweigh possible ecological risks such as, but not limited to, long-term decrease of water yield or loss of habitat and sustainable logging revenue.
Justification: With a diverse grouping of economic, agricultural, private, and public interests dependent on fresh water for sustenance, water rights are important issues throughout the globe. On the Platte River, the same is true with the forestry, agricultural, and municipal sectors all reliant on the same stream flow for their water needs.
When such is the case, it is up to land managers to make decisions on proper management specifically tailored towards increasing water yields from the area of interest. Equations have been developed to aid such a decision, but in many cases, the environmental, economic, and human-oriented risks of such approaches are overlooked. This can hinder all of the future ecological services offered by a stream, such as fresh water available for drinking and irrigation and habitat for numerous endangered, threatened, and non-threatened species.
The Platte River is facing a multitude of problems in consideration of water scarcity and, as exemplified above, land managers are moving towards forestry practices that have risks that can be easily overlooked or misaddressed. In this case, in depth assessments relating to biological, economic, and human-health risks are integral in determining an appropriate approach to reduce the chance of such risks from becoming reality. In the same respect, many programs which attempt to help biological integrity of the area are limited due to the importance of water rights to stakeholders. With enough analysis, it is possible to allow for optimal water yield while also promoting species and habitat rehabilitation programs.
Framework Focus: Applying the Ecological Risk Assessment approach to the topic of increasing water yield within rivers is vital in identifying all potential stressors and effects created by initiating such types of management practices. Watersheds generally encompass more than one city and/or state, demanding involvement by various stakeholders from numerous state, federal, agricultural, and recreational stakeholder groups. Without an ERA approach it would be easy to overlook certain risks by focusing most attention to the greater endpoint of increased water yield. The ERA approach can serve to educate stakeholder groups about the issues and develop a consensus on management practices. Questions and unknowns derived from the ERA framework will allow for future research, to better understand the watershed.
Literature Review:
The following sources make up a literature review for this report. Each source is of particular importance to the subject under evaluation.
1. Baron, J.S; Hartman, M.D.; Kittel, T.G.F.; Band, L.E.; Ojima, D.S.; Lammers, R.B. (1998)
Effects of Land Cover, Water Redistribution, and Temperature on Ecosystem Processes in the South Platte Basin. Ecological Applications, 8, 1037- 1051.
This article compares vegetation-related hydrological processes under differing land uses in the South Platte River basin, mainly focusing on converted croplands. By depicting different temperature scenarios, this paper will also help in determining the effect of land use on water yield in the face of global climate change.
2. Hall M.J., Sahin V. (1996, April). The Effects of Afforestation and Deforestation on Water
Yields. Journal of Hydrology, 178 (1), 293-309.
This study compiles data on both afforestation and deforestation forestry practices from 145 different studies to get comprehensive trends for water yield and other changes in stream processes. We will use this source to estimate and compare effects of forestry practices in the Platte Basin.
3. Jackson, R.B.; Carpenter, S.R.; Dahm, C.N.; McKnight, D.M.; Naiman, R.J.; Postel,
S.L. l; Running, S.W. (2001). Water in a Changing World. Ecological Applications, 11, 1027-1045.
This article offers in depth information on the general problems of global water shortage, and the potential of it affecting us in the near future. This will provide us with essential information in determining the larger scale problems exemplified by the water issues in the Platte River.
4. Matheson, A.A., (personal communication, June 7, 2002).
Re: Presentation on Increasing Water Yield Through Forest Management. Utah Water Project.
This is a letter responding to a presentation entitled “Increasing Water Yield through Forest Management.” This presentation had concluded that increasing water yield could be accomplished by logging 100,000 acre-feet and chaining and burning 250,000 acres of public land. The author of this letter decided to conduct a literature search to see if this was the best way to go about increasing water yield. He found the vast majority of studies he looked at concluded that measurable increase in water yield are found only after significant vegetation removal and, even where runoff increases, the increase tends to be transient. He then provides summaries of the supporting literature.
5. Platte River Recovery Implementation Program Attachment 5 Section 10 (2005, December 7). Federal Depletions Program for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program.
This attachment talks about the impacts of new water related activities that will have an effect on flow. It also looks at the the programs attempt to reduce the impact on the water flow.
6. Stednick J.D. (1996, March). Monitoring the Effects of Timber Harvest on Annual Water
Yield. Journal of Hydrology, 176(1), 79-95.
This study compares numerous paired water catchments in the US to assess the effects of timber harvest on stream flow responses and annual water yield. We can utilize this study as reference for timber programs already developed to provide increased water yield.
7. Tolley, G.S.p; Hastings, V.S. (1960) Optimal Water Allocations: North Platte River. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 74, 279-295.
Tolley and Hastings outline various relatively basic methodologies for water allocation for differing situations, specifically related to stream networks. This will help us in determining the common approach used to determine proper water allocation, and the risks related to such.
8. Troendle, C.A., MacDonald L.H., Luce, C.H. (2006, May 22). Fuels Management and Water
Yield. Retrieved March 2, 2007 from http://www.warnercnr.colostate.edu/frws/people/faculty/macdonald/publications/Fuel_mgmt_WY_Troendle.pdf
This article looks into the hydrological response to various forest cover (vegetation type and area covered).
9. Troendle C.A., Nankervis J.M., Porth L.S. (2003, May). The Impact of Forest Service
Activities on the Stream Flow Regime in the Platte River. Rocky Mountain Region, US
Forest Service.
This study applies a modeling approach to estimate past and future water yield associated with different forestry practices and potential plans in the North Platte River Basin. We can use this study to better understand the effects of forestry practices in the Platte river basin and better understand the potential for increased water yields.
Proposed Effort: In order to effectively analyze this topic an assortment of efforts must be put forth. A search for various texts must be conducted. In addition consultation should occur with our advisors. These efforts should be thorough enough to the extent that a well rounded understanding of the topic is known. With this information a multitude of questions will be answered including but not limited to: what is the background of this area? What has been done to the area? What is currently being done to the area? What suggestions have been and are being made? Who are the stakeholders involved? Why is this issue important? What lies in the future for the Platte River? All of the information obtained will be analyzed and put together into a final report. This report will also include images to help present data (including GIS maps). As with all reports it is important to keep an open mind and to adapt to new information and suggestions as they become available. This will enable us to provide the best possible final product.
Effort Assignment: When doing a group project spreading the workload evenly can be difficult. To help facilitate this process our group has laid out an effort assignment for each individual. Tim Morse is finding articles and summarizing them. He will be acting as a one of our speakers when we present our findings and he will be contributing written components to the final report. Erin Affronti will find advisors and communicate with them about questions that come up and she will be finding relevant articles. She will also be finding articles and summarizing them. Finally, she will be acting as “the organizer” when the final report and power point are put together. Garrett Bergey will find articles and summarize them. He will also act as a speaker when are findings are presented. Additionally he will contribute written components to the report. Andrew Carter will act as a visual aid specialist especially when GIS is concerned. Like the rest of the group he will also be finding articles and summarizing them as well as contributing to the written components of the final report.