Utah Project: BLM & BoR: Innovative and Adaptive Desert River Restoration

Utah Project

BLM & BoR: Innovative and Adaptive Desert River Restoration

January 2018 - June 2022

Personnel

Participating Agencies

WRI - Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Desert Fishes Habitat Counsel
Bureau of Land Management
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

The San Rafael River meanders around low-tech post-assisted log structures (PALs) installed as part of a restoration project aimed at increasing in-stream habitat and hydrologic complexity to benefit imperiled native fishes.

Important tributaries to the UCR have been impacted by hydrological alterations, habitat fragmentation, and non-native woody riparian vegetation establishment. In the lower river areas, spring snowmelt floods have declined in magnitude and duration due to water capture in the upper portion of the basin.
The overall objective and mission of this proposed restoration and monitoring project is to guide conservation and recovery efforts targeted to imperiled and endemic fish species and riparian corridors in desert tributaries of the upper Colorado River Basin. This project represents ongoing efforts initiated on the San Rafael in 2006 and is part of an effective partnership between the BLM, Utah State University, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR). This partnership is dedicated to science-driven and innovative desert river restoration. Our project has direct benefits to natural resource management and invasive species prevention.

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Laub, B.G., G.P. Thiede, W.W. MacFarlane, and P. Budy. 2018. Evaluating the conservation potential of tributaries for native fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Fisheries, Feature Article 43:194-206. DOI: 10.1002/fsh.10054. USGS IP: 081178.	January 2018
Laub, B. G., J. Jimenez, and P. Budy. 2015. Adopting science-based restoration in practice: application to a desert river system. Environmental Management ONLINE FIRST: DOI 10.1007/s00267-015-0481-5. USGS IP-053441. \| Abstract	April 2015	Persistence of many desert river species is threatened by a suite of impacts linked to water infrastructure projects that provide human water security where water is scarce. Many desert rivers have undergone regime shifts from spatially and temporally dynamic ecosystems to more stable systems dominated by homogenous physical habitat. Restoration of desert river systems could aid in biodiversity conservation, but poses formidable challenges due to multiple threats and the infeasibility of recovery to pre-development conditions. The challenges faced in restoring desert rivers can be addressed by incorporating scientific recommendations into restoration planning efforts at multiple stages, as demonstrated here through an example restoration project. In particular, use of a watershed- scale planning process can identify data gaps and irreversible constraints, which aid in developing achievable restoration goals and objectives. Site-prioritization focuses limited the resources for restoration on areas with the greatest potential to improve populations of target organisms. Investment in research to understand causes of degradation, coupled with adoption of a guiding vision is critical for identifying feasible restoration actions that can enhance river processes. Setting monitoring as a project goal, developing hypotheses for expected outcomes, and implementing restoration as an experimental design will facilitate adaptive management and learning from project implementation. Involvement of scientists and managers during all planning stages is critical for developing process- based restoration actions and an implementation plan to maximize learning. The planning process developed here provides a roadmap for use of scientific recommendations in future efforts to recover dynamic processes in imperiled riverine ecosystems.
Budy, P., M. M. Conner, N.L. Salant, and W. Macfarlane. 2015. An Occupancy-based Assessment of Regional Vulnerability. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12513 USGS FSP: IP-049189.	January 2015
Bottcher, J.L., T.E. Walsworth, G.P. Thiede, P. Budy, and D. Speas. 2013. Frequent Usage of Tributaries by the Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin: Observations from the San Rafael River, Utah. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, Management Brief. Online DOI: 10.1080/02755947.2013.785993. \| Abstract	May 2013	The importance of main-stem rivers and major tributaries to endangered Colorado River fishes is well documented, but the use and significance of small tributary streams remains poorly understood. Historically, these fishes probably used smaller tributaries for spawning, rearing, feeding, and refuge. Currently, the proliferation of nonnative species and altered flows may have affected tributary use by endangered fishes. In February 2008 and 2009, we installed a PIT-tag passive interrogation array (PIA) in the San Rafael River, Utah, approximately 2 km upstream from the confluence with the Green River, and another PIA approximately 60 km upstream from the Green River confluence. Using passive detections and active captures in the San Rafael River from 2008 to 2010, we detected 15 Colorado Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius, 16 Bonytails Gila elegans, 20 Razorback Suckers Xyrauchen texanus, and five “undocumented” fish. Several endangered fishes were detected on multiple occasions and across years, oftenmoving into and out of the San Rafael River from distances up to 360 km away (range, 6–360 km). Our findings demonstrate the use and the potential importance of small tributaries and their fragile habitats to endangered fishes.
Walsworth, T.E., and P. Budy. 2015. Integrating non-native species in niche models to prioritize native fish restoration activity locations along a desert river corridor. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 144:667–681. USGS IP-034122.	March 2015

Technical Publications

Technical Publications	Publication Date
Budy, P., T. Walsworth, and G.P. Thiede. 2010. Habitat needs, movement patterns, and vital rates of endemic Utah fishes in a tributary to the Green River, Utah. 2009 Annual Report to the Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region. UTCFWRU 2010(1):1-45.	May 2010
Walsworth, T.E., Budy, P., Keller, D., and Jimenez, J. 2019. UCRB Innovative and Science-based Desert Tributaries Restoration: Price River Initiative. Project Report to the Desert Fish Habitat Partnership.	July 2019

Presentations

Presentations	Presentation Date
Walsworth, T.E., Budy, P., Wheaton, J., Macfarlane, W.W., Shahverdian, S., Thiede, G.P., Keller, D., Goodell, J., and Jimenez, J. Harnessing process-based restoration to improve in-stream and riparian habitat in the Price River, Utah. Oral presentation: Utah Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Provo, Utah, March 12-14, 2019.	March 2019
Walsworth, T., P. Budy, and G. Thiede. 2011. Crowded niche space: the impact of novel competitors and predators on the growth rates of endemic desert fishes. Oral Presentation, American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, September 5-8, 2011. Seattle, WA.	September 2011
Botcher, J. and P. Budy. 2008. Habitat requirements, vital rates, and movement patterns of three endemic fishes in the San Rafael River, Utah. Utah American Fisheries Society, Moab, UT, Feburary 25, 2008. Best Student Poster Presentation Award ($250).	February 2008
Walsworth, T. P. Budy, and G.P. Thiede. 2010. A Patch Approach to Understanding the Effect of Stream Degradation on Food Web and Population Structure of Imperiled Fishes. Invited Budy Presentation, ‘Trash fish or native treasures, …Three Species’ Special Symposium, American Fisheries Society, Western Division, Salt Lake City, April 20-23, 2010.	April 2010
Doden, E., Budy, P., and Young, J.K. 2020. A tale of two beavers: Are translocated beavers as effective as resident beavers in desert river restoration? Contributed oral presentation. The Wildlife Society National Conference 27 September – 1 October, 2020. Louisville, KY.	October 2020
Doden, E., Young, J.K., Budy, P. 2019. Comparison of resident and translocated beavers in desert stream restoration sites. Research proposal poster. USGS Utah CRU Annual Meeting. Salt Lake City, UT.	April 2019
Doden, E., Young, J.K., Budy, P. 2020. One of the locals or new in town: Comparing resident and translocated beaver ecology at stream restoration sites. Research-in-progress poster. USGS Utah CRU Annual Meeting. Logan, UT.	February 2020

Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations	Publication Date
Walsworth, Timothy. 2011. A patch approach to understanding the effect of stream degradation on food web and population structure of imperiled desert fishes. MS Thesis. Ecology, Utah State University.	September 2011
Remiszewksi, T. 2022. Extreme, Positive Geomorphic Change in a Historically Degraded Desert River: Implications for Imperiled Fishes. M.S. Thesis, Utah State University, Logan, UT.	November 2022
Botcher, Jared. 2009. Habitat needs, movement patterns, and vital rates of endemic fishes in the tributaries to the Green River, UT. MS Thesis. Utah State University, 61 pages.	October 2009

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Utah Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Utah Project

BLM & BoR: Innovative and Adaptive Desert River Restoration

January 2018 - June 2022

Personnel

Participating Agencies

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Utah
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources