Project List - Watershed Program - Environmental Conservation

Alder Impacts on Headwater Streams(EP)
This project investigates the impact of riparian red alder (Alnus rubra) on headwater streams of the Olympic Peninsula.
Barriers and Lost Habitat (LE)
This project documents the distribution of barriers across the Willamette – Lower Columbia domain and explores their impact on salmon habitat and populations.
Biological Consequences of Human Activity in Nearshore Puget Sound (EP)
This project documents the distribution of barriers across the Willamette – Lower Columbia domain and explores their impact on salmon habitat and populations.
Chinook Spawning and Rearing in Puget Sound (LE)
Recovery efforts must quantify lost and modified habitat for adult and juvenile Chinook salmon in Puget Sound and implications for populations.
Commencement Bay Monitoring (EP)
The objective of this project is to monitor fish use of restoration sites in Commencement Bay, Washington.
Density-Dependent Dynamics in Skagit Delta (EP)
To learn how density-dependence affects juvenile chinook salmon in estuarine environments, this project is conducting field experiments in the Skagit Delta.
Duwamish River Restoration Opportunities (RE)
The objective of this study is to evaluate the role riparian vegetation and bank armoring play in nearshore habitat quality for juvenile salmonids within the Duwamish River, an urban estuary.
Dynamics of River-Floodplain Ecosystems (EP)
This project evaluates how river channel movements create different types of habitats in order to more effectively design habitat restoration projects in floodplains.
Ecosystem Recovery Planning for Listed Salmon (EP) (LE) (RE)
The SHRP report describes an approach to developing the habitat elements of a recovery plan for salmon listed under the ESA, including analyses to assist in identifying the recovery golas (Phase I planning) and identifying restoration actions (Phase II recovery planning).
EDT Sensitivity Analysis (LE)
The purpose of the EDT sensitivity analysis is quantify uncertainty in and better understand model output to inform the use of EDT in freshwater management and habitat recovery planning.
Effects of Estuary Habitat Modification on Salmon Growth (EP)
This project uses otoliths (ear bones) to learn how juvenile Chinook salmon grow in different (i.e., natural, agricultural, and urbanized) estuarine environments.
Effects of Log Jams in Large Rivers (RE)
This study will evaluate how large log jams; redistribute adult salmon, affect juvenile salmon use and growth rates; affect macroinvertebrate response, and alter primary productivity in two large river basins in Western Washington (Elwha and Stillaguamish).
Effects of Tributary Junctions on Productivity and Diversity (EP)
This projects investiages whether tributaries entering larger streams can provide food and habitat to an extent that these areas are preferentially chosen by fishes, and wheter they represent biological hot spots.
Elwha River Dam Removal Study (RE)
This study will capitalize on alteration of sediment supply by the Elwha dam in order to assess effects of changing sediment supplies on rearing habitat.
Estuarine Ecology of Chinook Salmon (EP)
The objective of this project is to understand the estuarine nearshore ecology of Puget Sound chinook salmon.
Evaluation of Spawning Habitat Limitations on Chinook Salmon (EP)
This project develops methods for estimating historical and current availability of spawning and rearing habitats for two case study watersheds in Puget Sound.
Hydrologic Regime and the Conservation of Salmon Life History Diversity (EP) (LE)
This study examines how life history diversity is influenced by invironmental variables in order to help set recovery goals for life history diversity and understand how environmental variables might control the spatial arrangement of populations in a viable ESU.
Influence of Nonindigenous Cordgrass on Food Webs (LE)
The primary objective of this project is to determine the importance of S. alterniflora production to the detritus based food webs in Willapa Bay.
Instream Monitoring in Washington State-Owned Forest Lands (EP)
The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for assessing whether the changes in forest management activities which were enacted after adoption of the HCP are having the desired effect of improving instream habitat conditions.
Instream Restoration (RE)
This project aims to understand effectiveness of various instream restoration techniques on improving salmon habitat.
International Review of Watershed Restoration (RE)
We are assisting the UN Food and Agriculture Organization by reviewing the published evaluations of habitat rehabilitation to provide guidance on restoration of freshwater ecosystems and fisheries throughout the world.
Large Wood and Sediment Storage in Steep, Headwater Streams (EP)
This study seeks to understand the dynamics of coarse sediment storage in small headwater streams, how management activities may affect this storage, and what the implications are for downstream resources.
Lewis River Case Study (LE)
The Lewis River Case Study compares multiple salmon and salmon habitat models in a decision support system for evaluating potential habitat restoration and protection actions.
Life Cycle Modeling of Salmon (EP)
The goal of this project is to examine 1) the relative importance of multiple aquatic habitats (streams, estuaries, and nearshore areas, for example) used by salmon during their migration, and 2) evaluate how different forms of density dependence influence the relative importance of these habitats.
Marine-Derived Nutrients in the Salmon River Basin, Idaho (LE) (EP)
The goal of this experiment is to compare the efficacy of three nutrient enrighment strategies (inorganic fertilizers, carcasses, fish analogs) on promoting stream productivity, and growth and survival of wild juvenile chinook and steelhead salmon.
Marine-Derived Nutrient Enrichment in Juvenile Coho (EP)
This project focuses on the effect of adult salmon run size on the marine derived nutrient (MDN) levels in juvenile salmonids.
Monitoring Stream Restoration (RE)
The objective of this project is to provide a single source that provides guidance on how to design monitoring and evaluation programs to determine the physical and biological effects of different restoration techniques at various scales.
Movement and Survival of Juvenile Salmonids in Small Streams (RE)
This project uses PIT tags to monitor movement and survival rates of juvenile salmonids in complex and simple stream reaches in the East Twin River, Washington.
Non-indigenous Species Impacts on Listed Salmonids (LE)
Non-indigenous species are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest, yet little is known about their combined impacts on threatened and endangered salmonids.
Recolonization of Salmon in the Upper Cedar River (RE)
The objective of this study is to establish baseline conditions for community and ecosystem attributes before recolonization of Pacific salmon above Landsburg Diversion in Cedar River watershed near North Bend, WA.
Recovery Potential of Incised Streams in the Columbia River Basin (EP)
This project examines patterns of habitat loss in several river basins, describes potential causes of incision, and estimates how much habitat is likely to be recovered through a variety of restoration techniques.
Restoration of Off-Channel Habitats (RE)
The objectives of this project are to determine the effectiveness of various off-channel habitat restoration techniques by 1) gathering and summarizing known information on off-channel salmonid production, and 2) determining what physical, biological, and hydrological features characterize the most successful projects.
Riparian Buffer Study (EP)
This project investigates the efficacy of different riparian buffer widths in protecting headwater stream ecosystems.
Salmonid Watershed Analysis Model (LE)
A compilation of projects looking at the impacts of land cover and land use over large areas on the distribution of salmon and the quality of their habitats.
Sediment Budget Modeling (EP)
This project estimates increases in landslide-derived sediment as a function of land use so that habitat restoration funding can be targeted more effectively.
Urban Stream Restoration (RE)
The objective of this project is to evaluate the physical and biological effectiveness of novel watershed rehabilitation techniques being applied in highly urbanized watersheds.
Variability of Water Temperature and Flow Patterns (LE)
We explore methods, such as wavelet analysis, for quantifying water temperature and flow variability and we examine causes and implications of simplification of water temperature and flow patterns.
Potential for Habitat Improvement in the Columbia River Basin
Spatial Analysis of Pre-Spawn Mortality
Application of Remote Sensing to Columbia River Salmonids

Watershed Projects