McKenzie River below Sahalie Falls. Photo by Rick Obst.
Floodplains are among the most biodiverse, productive, and threatened lands on the planet. They provide many functions that support fish and wildlife and protect communities. Unfortunately, connected floodplains and healthy meadows have become scarce throughout the country. As a result, the benefits they used to provide free of charge are all-too-rarely enjoyed today.
Today, there is a groundswell of effort to bring back those benefits through dozens of river restoration projects across our region. Their ecological, economic, scientific, and educational promise is profound and inspiring.
Landscape Legacies
The management of water in our nation’s waterways has long been a focus of land stewards. During early colonization and through to today, a primary goal of ‘improving the land’ has been to move water off of it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This typically meant draining fields and floodplains through the use of canals, ditches, piping and tiling of agricultural lands, straightening of channels, the eradication of beaver, and so on. Vast floodplains and wetland complexes, widely seen as “wasted” property, were eliminated. Legacy effects from this are pervasive today.
One of the “jobs” of a healthy river system is sediment transport – the process of moving and depositing sands, gravels and clays down and across the system, including on floodplains. Rivers deprived of flows needed to overflow their banks periodically and banks that allow those flows actually to reach their floodplains can't do that job properly. Today, the over- and under-abundance of sediment (and water) on floodplains causes millions of dollars in damages annually. These water and sediment supplies are fundamental issues: Expensive and widespread problems occur annually along rivers in the PNW – rain-on-snow events in the colder months, drought and water quality issues during the dry summers. These issues may be a result of weather variability year to year, but also can be at least partially attributed to the manipulation of the landscape by humans. They affect all of us.
These issues are not just centered along waterways. Landscape impacts have affected the natural geomorphic, ecologic and water quality processes basin-wide and in turn have impacted the conditions that support healthy riparian and aquatic habitats.
Today, there is a groundswell of effort to bring back those benefits through dozens of river restoration projects across our region. Their ecological, economic, scientific, and educational promise is profound and inspiring.
Landscape Legacies
The management of water in our nation’s waterways has long been a focus of land stewards. During early colonization and through to today, a primary goal of ‘improving the land’ has been to move water off of it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This typically meant draining fields and floodplains through the use of canals, ditches, piping and tiling of agricultural lands, straightening of channels, the eradication of beaver, and so on. Vast floodplains and wetland complexes, widely seen as “wasted” property, were eliminated. Legacy effects from this are pervasive today.
One of the “jobs” of a healthy river system is sediment transport – the process of moving and depositing sands, gravels and clays down and across the system, including on floodplains. Rivers deprived of flows needed to overflow their banks periodically and banks that allow those flows actually to reach their floodplains can't do that job properly. Today, the over- and under-abundance of sediment (and water) on floodplains causes millions of dollars in damages annually. These water and sediment supplies are fundamental issues: Expensive and widespread problems occur annually along rivers in the PNW – rain-on-snow events in the colder months, drought and water quality issues during the dry summers. These issues may be a result of weather variability year to year, but also can be at least partially attributed to the manipulation of the landscape by humans. They affect all of us.
These issues are not just centered along waterways. Landscape impacts have affected the natural geomorphic, ecologic and water quality processes basin-wide and in turn have impacted the conditions that support healthy riparian and aquatic habitats.
Watershed restoration requires that we understand the bigger picture and how the impacts, landscape-wide, can be addressed for better and sustainable conditions in rivers and streams for their inhabitants, both fish and people, who rely on them.
SCIENCE!
Watershed restoration is based on a strong scientific foundation that has been developed over many decades.
SCIENCE!
Watershed restoration is based on a strong scientific foundation that has been developed over many decades.
Deer Creek, tributary to Mckenzie River, OR. Photo courtesy of Willamette National Forest.
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Let’s talk about a few key concepts that are important for all of us to appreciate in the context of how rivers function and evolve. These are the importance of geology, hydrology and biology in the development and maintenance of river systems. How well these concepts are understood (in the context of the project location) and incorporated into project planning can make or break a project’s success in the long term.
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The importance of sediment and water. Lane’s Balance is a conceptual model that depicts the balance between water, sediment, and topographic dynamics on the influence of a waterway (aka river, stream, etc.). Notably, Lane’s balance can be used to guide the fit between the type of issue a channel is experiencing and the appropriate types of mitigation measures. Although Lane’s balance is neither quantitative nor temporal, it serves as a useful starting point for further analysis and complements communication between stakeholders.
Riparian Zones, the lands adjacent to rivers and streams, are critical for maintaining the health of aquatic ecosystems, providing wildlife habitat, reducing erosion, and filtering pollutants. Scientists have studied the characteristics of riparian zones, including the composition of vegetation, soil structure, and hydrology, to better appreciate their role in river health and develop restoration strategies that can improve their function.
Riparian Zones, the lands adjacent to rivers and streams, are critical for maintaining the health of aquatic ecosystems, providing wildlife habitat, reducing erosion, and filtering pollutants. Scientists have studied the characteristics of riparian zones, including the composition of vegetation, soil structure, and hydrology, to better appreciate their role in river health and develop restoration strategies that can improve their function.
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An excellent article by Castro and Thorne (2018) puts into context the importance of geology, hydrology and biology in their ‘Stream Evolution Triangle’ (See Figure 1).
An interesting film called ‘RiverWebs’ by Freshwater Illustrated highlights the importance of inputs from the riparian to stream fishes, and the cascading top-down effects they produce in stream food webs. It’s eye-opening in portraying the connection between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the incredible importance of healthy riparian corridors. Biological Processes: The plants and even animals within the watershed can affect the form and function of rivers. Humans, of course(!) are an example. So are beavers. And fish and freshwater mussels, and riparian vegetation. These all have very large roles, and you can catch their interesting stories here: Freshwater mussels’ role in the river system: https://www.xerces.org/blog/merit-of-mussels The Stream Evolution Triangle: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332021685_The_stream_evolution_triangle_Integrating_geology_hydrology_and_biology Beavers: This article highlights the work of beavers in rivers and their role in watershed restoration efforts. Let’s just say here that we are Beaver Believers. Beavers are a keystone species and ecosystem engineers. Through their normal day-to-day behaviors, beavers create uniquely disturbance-resistant landscapes and ecosystems that enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, reduce damage from wildfire, drought, and flood, and more. |
Figure 1A and 1B: The Stream Evolution Triangle (Castro and Thorne 2019):
(a) Stream evolution triangle with the planform patterns defined by Schumm (1955) used to illustrate typical morphologies that might be expected in different river styles within the triangle. The stream evolution triangle represents the relative influences of geology (erosion resistance), hydrology (stream power), and biology (biotic interaction); (b) channel patterns after Schumm (1955), adapted from Knighton (1984). |
These ecosystem services provide economic benefits on the order of $69,000 per square kilometer, per year (Jordan and Fairfax 2022). Where conditions allow, projects focused on recruiting, supporting, and at times relocating beavers are being implemented across the country and in Europe. They provide a low-cost but widely beneficial solution to degraded streams where the space and community allow.
The Evolution of Restoration - River Form and Function
River shapes and styles may be shallow and wide, or deep and narrow. Gravel-bedded or sandy. They may feature wide wetland complexes on the flanks, or steep, cascading bedrock channels that efficiently convey water and sediment downstream (See Figure 1). These ‘River Styles’ are dictated by ‘driving factors’ such as the local climate, geology, and biology of the watershed. All interconnected and exerting influence on the shape and function of the river.
A few decades ago, restoration focused largely on channel-based and form-based methods to add needed habitat elements to degraded stream channels. Projects typically focused on ‘re-meandering’ straightened streams. You can imagine that picture-perfect river: single-threaded with deep pools, abundant gravels, meandering on its way downstream. These are the locations of happy fish, and happy anglers, and, as it was thought at the time, should be the template that is strived for to have thriving fish populations. These conditions were constructed to maximize the project’s benefits to salmonids. And often referred to as ‘‘field of dreams,’’ channels were engineered using a structure-oriented approach focused on creating that idealized form.
Much was learned from the successes and failures of these projects. We now know that many different shapes, sizes and types of river styles and habitats should persist due to those driving factors of climate, geology, hydrology and topography. And rivers are dynamic, not locked in place. There is no one-size-fits-all. In many cases, the projects were not successful past the next channel-resetting flood because the localized conditions would not sustain those idealized forms naturally.
The Evolution of Restoration - River Form and Function
River shapes and styles may be shallow and wide, or deep and narrow. Gravel-bedded or sandy. They may feature wide wetland complexes on the flanks, or steep, cascading bedrock channels that efficiently convey water and sediment downstream (See Figure 1). These ‘River Styles’ are dictated by ‘driving factors’ such as the local climate, geology, and biology of the watershed. All interconnected and exerting influence on the shape and function of the river.
A few decades ago, restoration focused largely on channel-based and form-based methods to add needed habitat elements to degraded stream channels. Projects typically focused on ‘re-meandering’ straightened streams. You can imagine that picture-perfect river: single-threaded with deep pools, abundant gravels, meandering on its way downstream. These are the locations of happy fish, and happy anglers, and, as it was thought at the time, should be the template that is strived for to have thriving fish populations. These conditions were constructed to maximize the project’s benefits to salmonids. And often referred to as ‘‘field of dreams,’’ channels were engineered using a structure-oriented approach focused on creating that idealized form.
Much was learned from the successes and failures of these projects. We now know that many different shapes, sizes and types of river styles and habitats should persist due to those driving factors of climate, geology, hydrology and topography. And rivers are dynamic, not locked in place. There is no one-size-fits-all. In many cases, the projects were not successful past the next channel-resetting flood because the localized conditions would not sustain those idealized forms naturally.
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
- Heraclitus
- Heraclitus
There is increasing appreciation of the importance of incorporating climate change considerations and resiliency into restoration planning. Climate change may be accounted for in restoration in multiple ways: recognition that recent stream flow may not be representative of future flows (e.g., for determining channel capacity), increased emphasis on creating thermal refugia, and emphasis on restoration methods that will be resilient to or mitigate climate change.
Science in Action – Floodplain Reconnection Project Example(s)
What is it? Definition: Floodplain Reconnection is a valley scale, process based (hydrologic, geologic, and biologic) approach that aims to reestablish depositional environments to maximize longitudinal, lateral and vertical connectivity of the river with the floodplain and facilitate development of dynamic, self-formed and self-sustaining wetland-stream complexes. Let’s break that down.
The philosophy of floodplain reconnection is to work with natural processes to rehabilitate a modified and incised or aggrading channel and restore the water connection to its floodplain. Good floodplain reconnection projects operate at a scale that is big enough to address the constraints on the river, while being technically and economically attainable. The focus beyond the stream channel and onto the valley and floodplain more appropriately incorporates the broader landscape in the project, delivering a more resilient mosaic of habitats than just in-channel restoration.
These projects remove constraints on the channel, for example removing levees or dams, lowering banks that have disconnected the channel from the floodplain, or removing roads that impinge on the natural channel corridor; they bring water out of ditches and onto the floodplain. There are many terms and versions of this approach: process-based restoration, Stage Zero, Valley Reset – but these terms relate to creating the space to allow a river to be messy. The approach has been equated to pressing ‘Ctrl-Alt-Delete’ to clear an intractable computer problem.
Science in Action – Floodplain Reconnection Project Example(s)
What is it? Definition: Floodplain Reconnection is a valley scale, process based (hydrologic, geologic, and biologic) approach that aims to reestablish depositional environments to maximize longitudinal, lateral and vertical connectivity of the river with the floodplain and facilitate development of dynamic, self-formed and self-sustaining wetland-stream complexes. Let’s break that down.
The philosophy of floodplain reconnection is to work with natural processes to rehabilitate a modified and incised or aggrading channel and restore the water connection to its floodplain. Good floodplain reconnection projects operate at a scale that is big enough to address the constraints on the river, while being technically and economically attainable. The focus beyond the stream channel and onto the valley and floodplain more appropriately incorporates the broader landscape in the project, delivering a more resilient mosaic of habitats than just in-channel restoration.
These projects remove constraints on the channel, for example removing levees or dams, lowering banks that have disconnected the channel from the floodplain, or removing roads that impinge on the natural channel corridor; they bring water out of ditches and onto the floodplain. There are many terms and versions of this approach: process-based restoration, Stage Zero, Valley Reset – but these terms relate to creating the space to allow a river to be messy. The approach has been equated to pressing ‘Ctrl-Alt-Delete’ to clear an intractable computer problem.
Floodplain reconnection can also be achieved by filling in a degraded channel mechanically – which is sometimes termed a ‘valley floor reset’. In larger rivers, constrictions on the channel are removed and the valley floor is brought closer to the elevation of the channel. The removal of constraining features such as levees and embankments often supply the sediment needed to fill the incised channel.
Practitioners initially implemented Valley Reset projects on very low risk restorations of small, incised streams draining wet meadows on the arid east side of Oregon. In areas that are less degraded, floodplain reconnection can often be achieved simply by installing inexpensive features that encourage water out of the channel onto the floodplain. These often mimic permeable beaver dams (aka Beaver dam analogs [BDA’s] and low-tech process-based restoration [LTPBR] features). In some instances, floodplain reconnection can be achieved by lowering channel banks or removing impinging roadways. Many good reconnection projects mix and match these kinds of approaches.
Practitioners initially implemented Valley Reset projects on very low risk restorations of small, incised streams draining wet meadows on the arid east side of Oregon. In areas that are less degraded, floodplain reconnection can often be achieved simply by installing inexpensive features that encourage water out of the channel onto the floodplain. These often mimic permeable beaver dams (aka Beaver dam analogs [BDA’s] and low-tech process-based restoration [LTPBR] features). In some instances, floodplain reconnection can be achieved by lowering channel banks or removing impinging roadways. Many good reconnection projects mix and match these kinds of approaches.
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Figure 2: Restoration of a wet meadow in Eastern Oregon. Left: pre-restoration (July 2013); Right: one-year post-restoration. Red oval indicates the same tree stump, as a point of reference. Photo credits: Paul Powers.
Restoration approaches evolved as practitioners gained experience and confidence, up-scaling projects to larger rivers. Many projects in varying regions, climates and land-use settings are now underway, from small headwaters meadow streams to major lowland rivers and estuaries, in wet and arid climates, across the US, Europe and beyond.
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The South Fork McKenzie River project required identifying the topography and slope of the river-floodplain system before it was impacted by human activities. This is termed defining the 'Geomorphic Grade Line' (Powers et al., 2018). Earthworks were then undertaken that created localized lowering of the floodplain and using material from removed berms to in-fill the existing single-thread channel. Large woody material placement and pioneer planting of trees across the floodplain created flow deflectors that spread flows and dissipated the erosive forces of the increased floodplain flow. Natural geomorphic processes then took over, developing a fully connected, stream-wetland-floodplain system, resulting in the creation of multi-thread channels. For smaller streams and ditches, the same process is undertaken, and the land is allowed to become saturated, creating wetland and marsh habitat.
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Figure 3: Pre and Post-construction aerial photos of Deer Creek, a tributary to the Mckenzie River, Oregon
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Figure 4: Restoration of the South Fork McKenzie River by the US Forest Service.
Left: de-watered channel pre-restoration; Right: immediately post-restoration (2018). Photo credits: Kate Meyer and Johan Hogervorst.
Left: de-watered channel pre-restoration; Right: immediately post-restoration (2018). Photo credits: Kate Meyer and Johan Hogervorst.
The Landscape (and Fish) Response
Large wood, complex channel systems, low slopes and low flow velocities cause sediment to be deposited across restored reaches. This has multiple benefits including supplying many different species with nutrients required for growth and habitat creation, slowing flood flows, recharging shallow groundwater, and moderating water temperatures throughout the year. It also reduces turbidity downstream and the over-concentration of sediment where it is undesirable for fish and people. During big floods, healthy floodplains benefit communities by slowing and spreading dangerous flood waters that would otherwise flood riverside communities, harming people and property. Healthy floodplains are nature’s flood protection.
Let’s describe some floodplain restoration benefits in more detail. The benefits are many!
INCREASED HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE: Recharging groundwater levels will grow more riparian vegetation that will eventually shade and cool down the stream in the process. Similar to the story of restoring wolves to Yellowstone, re-wetting floodplains provides benefits for fish, but also wildlife, waterfowl, birds, insects, etc.
INCREASED HABITAT FOR FISH, ALL LIFE STAGES: Stream conditions that maintain a dynamic and resilient set of fluvial and riparian processes benefit an array of aquatic and terrestrial biota.
GRAVEL RETENTION: Reduced stream power and abundant large wood encourage gravels and fine sediment to accumulate –– creating abundant spawning habitat for native fish. Before, a narrower
channel with fast-flowing water would have transported those gravels and fines downstream, limiting fish spawning habitat.
HABITAT DIVERSITY: Good restoration projects recreate a diversity of habitats across the valley bottom. Side channels with slow-moving water and plenty of cover are excellent rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and trout.
Large wood, complex channel systems, low slopes and low flow velocities cause sediment to be deposited across restored reaches. This has multiple benefits including supplying many different species with nutrients required for growth and habitat creation, slowing flood flows, recharging shallow groundwater, and moderating water temperatures throughout the year. It also reduces turbidity downstream and the over-concentration of sediment where it is undesirable for fish and people. During big floods, healthy floodplains benefit communities by slowing and spreading dangerous flood waters that would otherwise flood riverside communities, harming people and property. Healthy floodplains are nature’s flood protection.
Let’s describe some floodplain restoration benefits in more detail. The benefits are many!
INCREASED HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE: Recharging groundwater levels will grow more riparian vegetation that will eventually shade and cool down the stream in the process. Similar to the story of restoring wolves to Yellowstone, re-wetting floodplains provides benefits for fish, but also wildlife, waterfowl, birds, insects, etc.
INCREASED HABITAT FOR FISH, ALL LIFE STAGES: Stream conditions that maintain a dynamic and resilient set of fluvial and riparian processes benefit an array of aquatic and terrestrial biota.
GRAVEL RETENTION: Reduced stream power and abundant large wood encourage gravels and fine sediment to accumulate –– creating abundant spawning habitat for native fish. Before, a narrower
channel with fast-flowing water would have transported those gravels and fines downstream, limiting fish spawning habitat.
HABITAT DIVERSITY: Good restoration projects recreate a diversity of habitats across the valley bottom. Side channels with slow-moving water and plenty of cover are excellent rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and trout.
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VEGETATION RECOVERY: Reconnecting floodplains helps an abundance of diverse native plants emerge from existing seed banks without the need for extensive planting. Species like willow and cottonwood that colonize rapidly in disturbed areas that are regularly inundated with water will thrive. The vegetation that colonizes these reaches provides more shade than that along incised channels, protecting the stream from increased air and water temperatures.
INCREASE IN BEAVER ACTIVITY: An increase in beaver activity and the construction of beaver dams is often observed throughout project areas. Beavers are very important ecosystem engineers and will maintain a well-connected valley bottom for many years to come. |
Figure 5: Beaver Dam Analag (BDA) in Bridge Creek. Photo courtesy of Utah State University.
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SELF-SUSTAINING RESILIENCE: Projects that allow channels to fluctuate with sediment input, water levels and vegetation growth tend to be more resilient and long-lasting than those that don’t. The depositional nature of the reconnected floodplains allows for log jams to recruit wood from upstream, thus reducing the risk of less appropriate log jams downstream in higher risk areas.
CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE: These projects combat the drought periods that are expected to increase with climate change by storing water and releasing it much more slowly. This provides the ability to recharge aquifers during high flows, which in turn makes the whole region more resistant to drought. The consistently wet vegetated area can also act as a fire break during wildland fires that occur with droughts (Randall, 2018; Jordan and Fairfax, 2022). The ponded water on the floodplain slowly seeps into the soil, keeping it wet and plants green. When wildfires come through, the wetlands are too wet to burn. You can’t start a campfire with soggy sticks, as Dr Emily Fairfax states on her web site devoted to being a beaver believer (also see Fairfax and Whittle 2020; https://emilyfairfaxscience.com/research/firebeavers/).
Fisheries Responses
Within even a few weeks following project installation fish were observed to inhabit the floodplain. On the Mckenzie River, for example, biologists in 2017 observed spring Chinook salmon spawning in Deer Creek after construction was completed - the first documented spawning since 1993! Several spawned-out salmon carcasses were found in log jams – an important step for supporting a productive food web as salmon carcasses provide rich marine-derived nutrients to the freshwater ecosystem.
CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE: These projects combat the drought periods that are expected to increase with climate change by storing water and releasing it much more slowly. This provides the ability to recharge aquifers during high flows, which in turn makes the whole region more resistant to drought. The consistently wet vegetated area can also act as a fire break during wildland fires that occur with droughts (Randall, 2018; Jordan and Fairfax, 2022). The ponded water on the floodplain slowly seeps into the soil, keeping it wet and plants green. When wildfires come through, the wetlands are too wet to burn. You can’t start a campfire with soggy sticks, as Dr Emily Fairfax states on her web site devoted to being a beaver believer (also see Fairfax and Whittle 2020; https://emilyfairfaxscience.com/research/firebeavers/).
Fisheries Responses
Within even a few weeks following project installation fish were observed to inhabit the floodplain. On the Mckenzie River, for example, biologists in 2017 observed spring Chinook salmon spawning in Deer Creek after construction was completed - the first documented spawning since 1993! Several spawned-out salmon carcasses were found in log jams – an important step for supporting a productive food web as salmon carcasses provide rich marine-derived nutrients to the freshwater ecosystem.
Figure 6: Photograph from Jefferies et al., 2008 displaying the difference in size of juvenile fish raised in the channel (left) and on the floodplain (right) as a result of more nutrients, shelter and favorable conditions.
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The photo to the left is from a study of salmon juveniles in California and clearly shows that fish reared on the floodplain have much higher growth rates (Jefferies et al., 2008 ). The study explicitly states that juveniles are often pushed out of the limited floodplain zones that do exist due to limited channel complexity during high flows. Therefore, floodplains not only provide better rearing habitat for wild fish but refuges and multiple slower flow paths to reduce mortality during flood flows as well.
In many locations, restoration of a river to its pre-disturbance condition may not be feasible due to anthropogenic changes and constraints. But where a river or stream can be fully reconnected to its floodplain, this may represent the most sustainable, resilient future, with the greatest ecological uplift. |
How to find out more and get involved:
Watershed Councils in Oregon and Salmon Enhancement Groups in Washington are working on beneficial projects across the region. Call them, join volunteer activities and help get the word out about their good work!
Watershed Councils in Oregon and Salmon Enhancement Groups in Washington are working on beneficial projects across the region. Call them, join volunteer activities and help get the word out about their good work!
OTHER RESOURCES:
Stage Zero Information Hub (https://stagezeroriverrestoration.com/index.html) - A wealth of resources helping restoration practitioners properly determine pre-disturbance (i.e. “natural” conditions) and then design projects with those conditions as their goal.
American Rivers Information Page (https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/restoring-damaged-rivers/benefits-of-restoring-floodplains/) - Why we need to restore floodplains and how we can best do so.
Naturally Resilient Communities (https://nrcsolutions.org) - An information filled website from a collaboration between many entities, including the Nature Conservancy, American Society of Civil Engineers, and others.
Natural channel and floodplain restoration (http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/srrestoration.html) - USDA NRCS website “about using a combination of fluvial geomorphology, hydraulics, hydrology, and aquatic biologic attributes to accomplish natural channel restoration.”
Streams and rivers restoration (http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/srrestoration.html) – NOAA Habitat Conservation/Restoration Center provides information about assessments, planning, permitting, design, cost and techniques.
NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/grant/coastal-and-marine-habitat-restoration-grants) – Includes information about grants and lists previous recipients and links to many of those projects.
Reconnecting Rivers to Floodplains (PDF) (http://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/17194413/ReconnectingFloodplains_WP_Final.pdf) – Produced by American Rivers, this report highlights how floodplain functions are lost through floodplain disconnection and modification and provides a framework from which to consider process-based floodplain restoration using the four attributes of functional floodplains: connectivity, variable flow, spatial scale, and habitat.
The online, interactive Floodplain Prioritization Tool (http://www.freshwaternetwork.org) is designed to help decision makers prioritize floodplain conservation and restoration investments in the Mississippi River Basin and assess tradeoffs related to water quality, wildlife habitat, flood risk reduction and other goals.
Stage Zero Information Hub (https://stagezeroriverrestoration.com/index.html) - A wealth of resources helping restoration practitioners properly determine pre-disturbance (i.e. “natural” conditions) and then design projects with those conditions as their goal.
American Rivers Information Page (https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/restoring-damaged-rivers/benefits-of-restoring-floodplains/) - Why we need to restore floodplains and how we can best do so.
Naturally Resilient Communities (https://nrcsolutions.org) - An information filled website from a collaboration between many entities, including the Nature Conservancy, American Society of Civil Engineers, and others.
Natural channel and floodplain restoration (http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/srrestoration.html) - USDA NRCS website “about using a combination of fluvial geomorphology, hydraulics, hydrology, and aquatic biologic attributes to accomplish natural channel restoration.”
Streams and rivers restoration (http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/techniques/srrestoration.html) – NOAA Habitat Conservation/Restoration Center provides information about assessments, planning, permitting, design, cost and techniques.
NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/grant/coastal-and-marine-habitat-restoration-grants) – Includes information about grants and lists previous recipients and links to many of those projects.
Reconnecting Rivers to Floodplains (PDF) (http://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/17194413/ReconnectingFloodplains_WP_Final.pdf) – Produced by American Rivers, this report highlights how floodplain functions are lost through floodplain disconnection and modification and provides a framework from which to consider process-based floodplain restoration using the four attributes of functional floodplains: connectivity, variable flow, spatial scale, and habitat.
The online, interactive Floodplain Prioritization Tool (http://www.freshwaternetwork.org) is designed to help decision makers prioritize floodplain conservation and restoration investments in the Mississippi River Basin and assess tradeoffs related to water quality, wildlife habitat, flood risk reduction and other goals.
