Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014CO297B

WOOD: Windows Of Opportunity for Debris Retention in Response to 2013 Front Range Flooding

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2015-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $2,435

Principal Investigators: Ellen Wohl

Abstract: The goal of this project is to assemble a rapid‐response interdisciplinary team of scientists to advise regional water and natural resource managers on management of instream wood entrained by recent flooding, and to design guidelines and a risk assessment procedure for future management of instream wood. An instructional goal is the mentoring and training of myself, Natalie Anderson, in effective interdisciplinary work which benefits society from a team of well respected senior scientists. Participation in this project will enhance my understanding of basic and applied stream science and will illustrate ways to incorporate scholarly understanding into natural resources and hazard management. The final outcomes of this study will be guidelines on instream wood risk assessment and management that will be disseminated to practitioners in the Front Range (May 2014), and a peer‐reviewed journal article summarizing the project and the guidelines (Dec 2014). These guidelines will help water and natural resources managers to decide whether individual wood pieces or jams must be removed, can be stabilized and left in place, or can simply be left alone, as opposed to the current default of always removing wood. The result would be an increased volume of instream wood in appropriate locations, with associated benefits to riverine environments and species.