Renewing Our Rivers: Stream Corridor Restoration in Dryland Regions

Description

Our rivers are in crisis and the need for river restoration has never been more urgent. Water security and biodiversity indices for all of the world’s major rivers have declined due to pollution, diversions, impoundments, fragmented flows, introduced and invasive species, and many other abuses. Developing successful restoration responses are essential. Renewing Our Rivers addresses this need head on with examples of how to design and implement stream-corridor restoration projects. Based on the experiences of seasoned professionals, Renewing Our Rivers provides stream restoration practitioners the main steps to develop successful and viable stream restoration projects that last. Ecologists, geomorphologists, and hydrologists from dryland regions of Australia, Mexico, and the United States share case studies and key lessons learned for successful restoration and renewal of our most vital resource. The aim of this guidebook is to offer essential restoration guidance that allows a start-to-finish overview of what it takes to bring back a damaged stream corridor. Chapters cover planning, such emerging themes as climate change and environmental flow, the nuances of implementing restoration tactics, and monitoring restoration results. Renewing Our Rivers provides community members, educators, students, natural resource practitioners, experts, and scientists broader perspectives on how to move the science of restoration to practical success. Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. A Case for Stream Corridor Restoration 2. Stream Corridor Restoration: Some Assembly Required Case Study 2.1. Example of a Restoration Goal Case Study 2.2. Restoring Native Fish in the Murray-Darling River, Australia 3. Assessing the Hydrological and Physical Conditions of a Drainage Basin 4. Adapting Your Stream Restoration Project to Climate Change Case Study 4.1. Analysis of Trends in Climate and Streamflow to Inform Water Management Decisions in the Río Conchos, Chihuahua, Mexico Case Study 4.2. Protecting the Kooragang Wetlands from Rising Sea Levels Case Study 4.3. Using Vulnerability Assessments to Strengthen Climate-Adaptive Conservation Response to Climate Change Case Study 4.4. Assessing the Vulnerability of Reestablishing Obligate Riparian Trees Along a Desert Stream to Climate Change 5. Quantifying and Securing Environmental Flow Case Study 5.1. Applying La Norma Mexicana de Caudal Ecológico (Ecologic Flows Policy of Mexico) to Establish a Water Reserve in the Rio Hardy, Mexico Case Study 5.2. Coordinating Reservoir Management and Environmental Flows on the Bill Williams River, Arizona Case Study 5.3. The Colorado River Delta Water Trust Case Study 5.4. Protecting Flow for a Critically Endangered Species Case Study 5.5. Rewatering the Colorado River Delta Case Study 5.6. Unique Conservation Partnerships to Support Native Freshwater Ecosystems Along the Middle Rio Grande 6. Implementation: Putting Your Stream Corridor Restoration Plan into Action Case Study 6.1. Two Rivers Traffic Management Plan Case Study 6.2. Making Stream Restoration Alluring for Ranchers Case Study 6.3. Controlling Tamarisk Monocultures at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Case Study 6.4. Controlling Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) in Riparian Flood Plains Case Study 6.5. A Collaborative, Binational Effort to Manage Giant Cane (Arundo donax) Along the Rio Grande / Río Bravo in Big Bend, U.S.-Mexico Border Case Study 6.6. Conserving Native Small- Bodied Freshwater Fishes During Extreme Drought in the Lower Murray-Darling Basin, Australia Case Study 6.7. Protecting the Hottest Fish in the World Case Study 6.8. Pecos River Restoration and the Threatened Pecos Bluntnose Shiner, New Mexico Case Study 6.9. Reintroduction of the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow in the Rio Grande Basin 7. Monitoring the Results of Stream Corridor Restoration Case Study 7.1. Monitoring the Effectiveness of Managing Giant Cane Along the Rio Grande / Río Bravo in Big Bend Case Study 7.2. Long- Term Monitoring of Marsh Birds in the Colorado River and Cienega de Santa Clara, Baja California, and Sonora, Mexico Case Study 7.3. Monitoring the Effects of Small Dam Removal on Fish Community Composition Case Study 7.4. Groundwater Monitoring for River Restoration Case Study 7.5. Citizen Science Case Study 7.6. Real-Time Measurement of Streamflow Using Inexpensive and Readily Available Equipment Case Study 7.7. Surveying Channel Morphology Along the Rio Grande / Río Bravo in Big Bend Case Study 7.8. Assessing Channel Geomorphic Change Along the Big Bend Reach of the Rio Grande / Río Bravo Using Survey Data Collected from Different Time Periods Using Different Equipment and Techniques 8. Going Long: Ensuring That Your Stream Corridor Restoration Effort Continues to Grow Case Study 8.1. A Public-Private Partnership to Reclaim Wetlands at Banrock Station, Southern Australia Case Study 8.2. Informal Community-Based Partnerships Seed Larger Public-Private Partnerships in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico Case Study 8.3. The Rio Grande Water Fund Case Study 8.4. Businesses Can Be Strong Stream Restoration Partners Appendix A: Selected Sources of Natural Resource Data and Information in Australia, Mexico, and the United States Appendix B: Major Climate Service Providers and Resources by Country Glossary Contributors Index