Grantee Research Project Results
1999 Progress 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.
Current Investigators: Wissmar, Robert C. , Timm, Raymond K. , Fluharty, David L. , Leschine, Thomas M. , Montgomery, Melissa
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: February 1, 1999 through January 31, 2002 (Extended to January 31, 2003)
Project Period Covered by this Report: February 1, 1999 through January 31, 2000
Project Amount: $749,991
RFA: Water and Watersheds (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Watersheds
Objective:
Our societal and biophysical research evaluates how riverine ecosystems, fish habitats, salmon populations, and human systems respond to and influence river basin planning and actions aimed at restoring and protecting salmon habitats in the lower Cedar River Basin near Seattle, WA. Our objectives include: (1) developing an understanding, retrospective and contemporary, of societal, institutional, and policy forces that have shaped the current environment; (2) developing the ability to assess and anticipate biophysical and human systems responses; and (3) formulating and examining the effectiveness of policies for restoring damaged river and floodplain ecosystems.Progress Summary:
The development and implementation of restoration initiatives and growth management plans presented for the lower Cedar River (Cedar River Basin and Nonpoint Pollution Action Plan, [CRBP, King County 1998] and the King County Comprehensive Plan [KCCP, King County 1994]) are being assessed. These plans implement provisions of Washington State's Growth Management Act (GMA). Currently, King County and other agency policies and restoration initiatives are being subjected to revision due to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings of salmon stocks in the Puget Sound region. ESA-driven Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) as well as Watershed Conservation Plans for preserving and restoring salmon habitats, and project permit requirements, are influencing GMA, KCCP, and CRBP actions and, therefore, some directions of our research.Our integration of societal and biophysical research is based on a hierarchical framework (Table 1). This approach permits viewing regional and riverine landscape areas at nested spatial scales. The largest area (Scale I) is the Lake Washington drainage area, which includes the Cedar and Sammamish River Basins. Scale I provides both the social and physical context relevant at the regional level. Scale II is the lower Cedar River Basin (171 km2), which is subdivided into river channel segments (II-A) and tributary watersheds (II-B). The smallest areas of study, scales III and IV, are nested within river segments (II-A). Scales III and IV include select river channel and floodplain habitats. At all scales, water is a common denominator for evaluating influences of societal and biophysical factors on natural and human systems. Water availability in riverine habitats of the lower Cedar River is primarily dependent on flows remaining after water diversions, flood control measures, and water losses via sewer and storm drainage systems. River segments, tributaries, and habitats are viewed as integrated flowing systems that create and maintain aquatic habitats within geomorphic structures and their hydrological regimes (Table 1). Both societal and biophysical research (1999 to 2001) are addressing research questions (see Future Activities) within the hierarchical framework.
Societal research is developing along two parallel tracks, retrospective and contemporary. During 1999, we addressed water, associated habitat restoration, and other issues related to historical human-induced changes in the region and within the lower Cedar River Basin. Societal studies are addressing how resource demands and political decisions at higher levels (Scale I) result in tradeoffs that affect the lower Cedar River Basin (Scales II, III, and IV). We are analyzing the broader governance structure and developments (e.g., GMA, KCCP, and ESA) that guide and affect regional and Cedar River habitat restoration, protection, salmon production, and related forces of human population growth and development. The Scale I regional level is where primary funding and other resources are allocated to restoration and protection and legal authority resides to control growth that affects the Cedar River Basin. Research at smaller scales within the Basin includes retrospective and contemporary evaluations of management decisions. Scale II studies include actions of the Cedar River Council (King County and local communities) that emulate other policy makers and managers (various King County management divisions, state agencies, federal agencies, tribal nations, and citizen groups). Scale II societal research interfaces with biophysical research by evaluating how resource demands and political decisions influence changes in land cover (Table 1). Research at smaller spatial scales is within select tributary watersheds and riverine areas. The Scale III and IV study areas include the Elliot to Cavanaugh (4 to 6.5 km) reach, the Rock Creek to Walsh Creek (17.8 to 19.5 km) reach, and the Rock Creek watershed. These areas are the societal component's primary areas of coordination with the biophysical research. The focus of Scales I, II, III, and IV research is: (1) management of growth, (2) funding allocations for habitat restoration and protection with emphasis on prioritization, and (3) management of the Cedar River's water allocations, both directly and through the management of ancillary activities that impact water quantity and quality.
Biophysical research during 1999 produced findings in three publications. Scale II studies identified major areas of land cover changes in tributaries and on the river floodplains (Wissmar, et al., in press). The lower Cedar River Basin is a prime example of an area experiencing major land conversions along an urban-rural gradient. This basin encompasses the lower mainstream of the river and 15 tributary watersheds. We addressed a major question facing King County: What areas are undergoing significant conversion of land cover that might consequently impact riverine habitats? We evaluated the distribution of these changes across physical and political landscapes (the Urban Growth Area and incorporated areas). The land cover within the basin was evaluated for change between 1991 and 1998. Significant increases in developed land cover in the more urbanized areas included the widening of a major state highway and conversion of remaining isolated forest patches through infill development. More rural areas demonstrated increases in developed land cover, which correspond with patterns of scattered low-density residential and clustered dense commercial and residential development. This study is designed to facilitate fine-resolution spatial hydrological modeling of impacts of land cover change on riverine systems and should be applicable to other landscapes.
Scale (I) provides the biophysical and social regional boundary for studies at smaller nested spatial scales in the lower Cedar River, WA (scales II, III, and IV). Research activities include retrospective and contemporary perspectives.
SCALE |
RESTORATION RESEARCH |
|
SOCIETAL. Regional resource allocation decisions: funding tradeoffs across river basins, growth management, and impact control. |
(II-A); TRIBUTARY (II-B) |
SOCIETAL. Basin wide resource allocation decisions: water, amenity-value,
and transportation management; and mitigation for adverse effects.
BIOPHYSICAL. Changes in land cover and spatial hydrology. |
|
SOCIETAL. Local resource allocation decisions: project-level decisions;
project impact control and mitigation.
BIOPHYSICAL. Habitat functions and restoration: conveyance hydrology and geomorphology of channel habitats; salmon spawning behavior; fish habitat preferences. |
|
SOCIETAL. Local resource allocation decisions: project-level decisions;
project impact control and mitigation.
BIOPHYSICAL. Habitat functions and restoration: hydrology and geomorphology of floodplain habitats; salmon spawning behavior; juvenile fish growth; fish habitat preferences. |
Corresponding societal studies examined the governance system for managing growth at Scale I that affects the Cedar Basin, including efforts to mitigate environmental impacts associated with land conversion. The pattern of growth in the surrounding region, as influenced by the GMA, was the focus (McCracken, in preparation). Growth patterns in key sub-areas of the basin, and the influence on the basin of the process of urban growth boundary adjustment, were examined. The potential application of new tools like transferable development rights, now being used to protect portions of the Cedar Basin from conversion to higher-density use, also was examined. A database of institutions involved in Cedar Basin governance has been developed.
The effect of land use change on the spatial hydrology (Scale II) of the basin is being modeled using the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) (Wigmosta, et al., 1994). To facilitate application to the lower Cedar River Basin, simple representations of impervious areas and overland routing were incorporated into the model. The lower Cedar River Basin was modeled at a horizontal resolution of 30 meters. The land surface characteristics (i.e., distribution of vegetation and impervious areas) were obtained from Wissmar, et al., 2000. Data on the hydraulic parameters of soil over the basin were obtained from King County (1993). Current and future spatial hydrology modeling (DHSVM) activities include calibration to the hourly observed discharge rates from several tributary watersheds in both developed and less developed conditions. Model applications will include assessing how land cover changes (1991 and 1998) influence the spatial hydrology (e.g., areas of increased surface run-off and flooding) in tributary watersheds and select river segments.
Related societal studies are built around an important ongoing policy debate concerning the current and proposed future withdrawals of water from the Cedar Basin by the Cities of Seattle and Kent for public water supply, activities that have basin-wide scale and tributary effects (Scales II and II-B). These studies also examine the regulatory basis for managing ancillary activities that affect water quantity and quality (e.g., hydraulic permitting, and water wells associated with new development), typically at Scales III and IV). It is anticipated that the latter effort will be expanded into more detailed case studies during the second year. Current studies under the "retrospective" component include documenting the historical evolution of the City of Seattle reliance on Cedar River water, and a broader regional pattern of dependency on that water that has developed as a result of prevailing incentives.
Habitat restoration studies (Scales III and IV) have assessed how different geomorphic conditions and discharge rates influence channel and floodplain habitat characteristics, their hydrological connectivity with the river channel, and habitat preferences of spawning salmon (Hall, et al., in press). Throughout the United States and other developed countries, human modification of hydrologic regimes of rivers has led to the loss of riverine habitats, loss of connectivity between habitats, and changes in fish communities. In the Pacific Northwest, a better understanding of habitat connectivity, as well as habitat use by fish, is essential to conserving and restoring salmon (Oncorhynchus species). Fish in different riverine habitats rely on behavioral adaptations, such as habitat preferences and reproductive timing, to adapt to habitat and hydrologic changes. Hydrologic regimes, habitat preferences of spawning fish, and reproductive timing of sockeye salmon (O. nerka) were monitored during 1999 in two floodplain ponds of the Cedar River. At the river-landscape scale (Scales II to IV), water surface elevations in both ponds showed high hydrologic connectivity with river discharge. River discharge and the subsequent effect on pond stage affected pond access by fish and habitat availability. At the habitat-scale, spawning sockeye preferred shallow water areas associated with gravel substrate and groundwater upwellings. Habitat use in the ponds by spawning sockeye salmon and other species indicate fish populations can be enhanced by sustaining and restoring floodplain habitats in relation to hydrologic connectivity at different river stages and groundwater upwelling areas within habitats.
Our 1999 studies (Scale III and IV) identified subsurface flows (flowing groundwater or hyporheic water) between river and floodplain habitats of the Cedar River as unique opportunities for enhancing salmon habitats and populations. Our studies have shown that surface and subsurface flow paths are highly connected because of porous substrates (e.g., gravel and cobble) in the river and adjacent floodplain. These geomorphic deposits allow rapid equilibration between surface and subsurface flows during different river stages, and create floodplain ponds fed by upwelling groundwater. The maintenance and creation of upwelling ponds that drain to the river could represent a very cost effective measure for restoring salmon without increasing demands for additional water. Subsurface flows, depending on residence times below ground, also are important to the ecosystem by providing recharge of groundwater levels, increased water storage, and thermal regulation within floodplains. Thermal models are being used to delineate source areas of subsurface flows through floodplain areas and to channels (Olson and Wissmar, in press) and to evaluate restoration opportunities.
Corresponding societal studies are examining the governance structure for salmon habitat acquisition, protection, and restoration in the Cedar River Basin, with an emphasis on how tradeoffs are made at the various scales (Table 1; McCracken and Leschine, in preparation). At Scale I, the emphasis is on the political process of accommodating, under the ESA and related initiatives of salmon protection and restoration across the Puget Sound region. Within the Cedar River Basin, the emphasis is on tradeoffs between habitat restoration and related interests in habitat acquisition and protection, particularly at the jurisdictional level of the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA). These tradeoffs extend ultimately to the project level, where a variety of forces act to determine which projects, and by extension, which species and habitat types, take precedence in restoration planning.
References:
King County. Cedar River current and future conditions, Seattle, WA, 1993.
King County. King County comprehensive plan, Seattle, WA, 1994.
King County. Lower Cedar River Basin and Nonpoint Pollution Action Plan, Seattle, WA, 1998.
McCracken H. Current and future land use change in the Cedar River Basin (in preparation).
McCracken H, Leschine TM. Institutional arrangements for salmon habitat acquisition, protection, and restoration: Cedar River, King County, WA (in preparation).
Wigmosta M, Vail L, Lettenmaier DP. A distributed hydrology-vegetation model for complex terrain. Water Resources Research 1994;30:1665-1679.
Future Activities:
Future activities (2000 and 2001) include continued evaluation of questions addressed during year one (1999) within the hierarchical framework (Table 1). Societal and biophysical research will continue to interact at specific scales and within select areas. Research will emphasize Scale II evaluations of how resource demands and political decisions influence changes in land cover and Scale III and IV studies at the Elliot to Cavanaugh reach, the Rock Creek to Walsh Creek reach, and within Rock Creek watershed. Examples of joint studies include: (1) ESA influences on restoration and water management, and (2) interactions with Watershed Resource Inventory Area (WRIA 8) Steering and Technical Committees, which are responsible for developing a Watershed Conservation Plan for the Lake Washington drainage area. The Conservation Plan will recommend actions and identify funding necessary to preserve, protect, and restore habitat in WRIA 8 with the intent to recover listed species, including salmon, trout, and other species.Retrospective archival and contemporary research (surveys and interviews) will focus on: (1) funding allocations and prioritization for habitat restoration and protection (e.g., GMA, KCCP, and CRBP management plans under ESA and WRIA 8 constraints); and (2) management of the Cedars water regime, both directly and through the management of ancillary activities that impact water quantity and quality (e.g., King County and Seattle City Utilities actions under ESA constraints). This research also will focus on the following societal and biophysical questions:
Societal Questions
Scale I
1. How do resource demands and
political decisions at higher levels (Scale I) result in tradeoffs that affect
the lower Cedar River Basin (Scale II)? Scales II, III and IV?
2. How do
resource demands and political decisions at the lower Cedar River Basin (Scale
II) result in tradeoffs that affect select areas within the river system (Scales
III and IV)?
3. How do different user groups perceive salmon protection and
restoration actions, as a goal or constraint?
4. How do different user
groups perceive benefits and costs of proposed salmon protection and
restoration?
5. How do governance systems respond to these problems at the
different scales?
Biophysical Questions
Scale II
1. How do land cover changes
and variations in precipitation influence the spatial hydrology in river
segments and tributary watersheds (past, current, and future)? Scales III and IV
2. How do different geomorphic and hydrological characteristics influence
river and floodplain habitat functions, connectivity, and restoration
opportunities?
3. For existing functional and newly created floodplain
habitats:
What are the habitat preferences of spawning and juvenile salmon?
What are the growth rates of juvenile salmon?
What are residence times
of juvenile salmon?
How do physical and biotic factors affect spawning and juvenile salmon?
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 32 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
water, watersheds, land, groundwater, restoration, scaling, aquatic, habitat, societal, public policy, decision making, model, Pacific Northwest., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Hydrology, Water & Watershed, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, State, Restoration, Wet Weather Flows, Ecology and Ecosystems, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Watersheds, aquatic ecosystem, environmental restoration, riparian zone conditions, fllod hazard initiatives, floodplain ecosystems, risk assessment, suburban watersheds, flood control, fish habitat, salmon habitat restoration, floodplain ecosystem, Washington (WA), conservation, restoration strategies, ecological recovery, urban stream rehabilitation, urban development, aquatic ecosystems, public policy, riparian ecosystem integrity, riparian habitat, wildlife habitat, watershed restoration, aquatic habitat protection , flood hazard initiatives, restoration planningRelevant Websites:
http://www.fish.washington.edu/people/wissmar
http://www.sma.washington.edu/
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/util/watershed/cedar/hcp/default.htm
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/esa/index.htm
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.