Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Flow Restoration in the Columbia River Basin: An Evaluation of a Flow Restoration Accounting Framework

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Securing environmental flows in support of freshwater biodiversity is an evolving field of practice. An example of a large-scale program dedicated to restoring environmental flows is the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, which has been restoring flows in dewatered tributary habitats for imperiled salmon species over the past decade. This paper discusses a four-tiered flow restoration accounting framework for tracking the implementation and impacts of water transactions as an effective tool for adaptive management. The flow restoration accounting framework provides compliance and flow accounting information to monitor transaction efficacy. We review the implementation of the flow restoration accounting framework monitoring framework to demonstrate (a) the extent of water transactions that have been implemented over the past decade, (b) the volumes of restored flow in meeting flow targets for restoring habitat for anadromous fish species, and (c) an example of aquatic habitat enhancement that resulted from Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program investments. Project results show that from 2002 to 2015, the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program has completed more than 450 water rights transactions, restoring approximately 1.59 million megaliters to date, with an additional 10.98 million megaliters of flow protected for use over the next 100 years. This has resulted in the watering of over 2414 stream kilometers within the Columbia Basin. We conclude with a discussion of the insights gained through the implementation of the flow restoration accounting framework. Understanding the approach and efficacy of a monitoring framework applied across a large river basin can be informative to emerging flow-restoration and adaptive management efforts in areas of conservation concern.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acreman MC, Overton IC, King J, Wood PJ, Cowx IG, Dunbar MJ, Kendy E, Young WJ (2014) The changing role of ecohydrological science in guiding environmental flows. Hydrol Sci J 59:433–450. doi:10.1080/02626667.2014.886019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Africa, R of S (1998) National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998). Government Gazette. http://www.dwa.gov.za/Documents/Legislature/nw_act/NWA.pdf. Accessed 21 Feb 2017

  • Arthington AH, Bunn SE, Poff NL, Naiman RJ (2006) The challenge of providing environmental flow rules to sustain river ecosystems. Ecol Appl 16:1311–1318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arthington AH, Naiman RJ, McClain ME, Nilsson C (2010) Preserving the biodiversity and ecological services of rivers: new challenges and research opportunities. Freshw Biol 55:1–16. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02340.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aylward B (2013) Environmental Water Transactions: A Conceptual Framework. In Environmental Water Transactions: A Practitioner’s Handbook. Edited by Bruce Aylward. Bend, OR: Ecosystem Economics

  • Barnas K, Katz SL (2010) The challenge of tracking habitat restoration at various spatial scales. Fisheries 35(5):232–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnas KA, Katz SL, Hamm DE, Diaz MC, Jordan CE (2015) Is habitat restoration targeting relevant ecological needs for endangered species? Using Pacific Salmon as a case study. Ecosphere 6(7):110. doi:10.1890/ES14-00466.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bash JB, Ryan CM (2002) Stream restoration and enhancement projects: is anyone monitoring? Environ Manage 29:877–885. doi:10.1007/s00267-001-0066-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beechie T, Buhle E, Ruckelshaus M, Fullerton A, Holsinger (2006) Hydrologic regime and the conservation of salmon life history diversity. Biol Conserv 130:560–572. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.01.019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beschta RL (1997) Restoration of riparian and aquatic systems for improved aquatic habitats in the upper Columbia River basin. In:Stouder DJ, Bisson PA, Naiman RJ (eds) Pacific Salmon & their ecosystems Springer, New York, NY, p 475–491

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bisson PA, Quinn TP, Reeves GH, Gregory SV (1992) Best management practices, cumulative effects, and long-term trends in fish abundance in Pacific Northwest river systems. In: Naiman R (ed) Watershed management: balancing sustainability and environmental change. Springer, New York, NY, p 189–232

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bjornn TC (1971) Trout and salmon movements in two Idaho streams as related to temperature,food, stream flow, cover, and population density. Trans Am Fish Soc 100:423–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bottom DL, Simenstad CA, Burke J, Baptista AM, Jay DA, Jones KK, et al. (2005) Salmon at river’s end: the role of the estuary in the decline and recovery of Columbia River salmon. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-68

  • Bouwes N, Bennett S, Wheaton J (2016) Adapting adaptive management for testing the effectiveness of stream restoration: an intensively monitored watershed example. Fisheries 41:84–91. doi:10.1080/03632415.2015.1127806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conroy MJ, Peterson JT (2006) Integrating management, research, and monitoring: balancing the 3-legged stool Gamebird 2006:413–421

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosens B, Williams M (2012) Resilience and water governance: adaptive governance in the Columbia River basin. Ecol Soc 17:3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Decker AS, Bradford MJ, Higgins PS (2008) Rate of biotic colonization following flow restoration below a diversion dam in the Bridge River, British Columbia. River Res Appl 24:876–883. doi:10.1002/rra.1076

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donato MM (1998) Surface-water/ground-water relations in the Lemhi River Basin, east-central Idaho (No. 98-4185). US Geological Survey, Boise, ID

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs PW, Kondolf GM (2002) Post-project appraisals in adaptive management of river channel restoration. J Environ Manage 29:477–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flitcroft R, Dedrick D, Smith C, Thieman C, Bolte J (2009) Social infrastructure to integrate science and practice: the experience of the Long Tom Watershed Council. Ecol Soc 14:36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fullerton AH, Burnett KM, Steel EA, Flitcroft RL, Pess GR, Feist BE et al. (2010) Hydrological connectivity for riverine fish: measurement challenges and research opportunities. Freshw Biol 55:2215–2237

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrick D, Siebentritt MA, Aylward B, Bauer CJ, Pureky A (2009) Water markets and freshwater ecosystem services: policy reform and implementation in the Columbia and Murray-Darling Basins. Ecol Econ 69:366–379. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.08.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrick D, Miller CL, McCoy AL (2011) Institutional innovations to govern environmental water in the western United States: lessons for Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin. Econ Pap 30:167–184. doi:10.1111/j.1759-3441.2011.00104.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon ND, McMahon TA, Finlayson BL, Gippel CJ, Nathan RJ (2004) Stream hydrology: an introduction for ecologists. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Groot C, Margolis L (1991) Pacific salmon life histories. UBC Press, Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamlet AF, Lettenmaier DP (1999) Effects of climate change on hydrology and water resources in the Columbia River basin. J Am Water Resour Assoc 35:1597–1623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardner J, Gullison T (2007) Independent External Evaluation of the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program (2003–2006). Hardner and Gullison Consulting, LLC. Portland, Oregon

  • Holling CS (1978) Adaptive environmental assessment and management. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Idaho Water Resources Board (IWRB) (2015) Idaho Water Transactions Program Strategic Plan, Upper Salmon River Basin. Monitoring and evaluation reports related to this plan. https://www.idwr.idaho.gov/waterboard/WaterPlanning/Water%20Transaction%20Program/water_transaction_program.htm

  • Kammerer JC (1990) Largest Rivers in the United States. United States Geological Survey. https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/pdf/ofr87242.pdf. Accessed 16 Feb 2017

  • Katz SL, Barnas K, Hicks R, Cowen J, Jenkinson R (2007) Freshwater habitat restoration actions in the Pacific Northwest: a decade’s investment in habitat improvement. Restor Ecol 15(3):494–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King AJ, Tonkin Z, Mahoney J (2009) Environmental flow enhances native fish spawning and recruitment in the Murray River, Australia. River Res Appl 25:1205–1218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschbaum R, Lettenmaier DP (1997) An evaluation of the effects of anthropogenic activity on streamflow in the Columbia River Basin, Washington. Water Resources Series, Technical Report, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

  • Lichatowich JA, Mobrand LE (1995) Analysis of chinook salmon in the Columbia River from an ecosystem perspective. Report for Bonneville Power Administration. http://www.fishsciences.net/reports/BPA/Analysis_chin_Columbia_ecosystem_perspective.pdf. Accessed 21 Feb 2017

  • Lind PR, Robson BJ, Mitchell BD (2007) Multiple lines of evidence for the beneficial effects of environmental flows in two lowland rivers in Victoria, Australia. River Res Appl 2:933–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malloch S (2005) Liquid assets: protecting and restoring the West’s Rivers and Wetlands through environmental water transactions. Trout Unlimited, Arlington, VA

  • Matheussen B, Kirschbaum RL, Goodman IA, O’Donnell GM, Lettenmaier DP (2000) Effects of land cover change on streamflow in the interior Columbia River Basin (USA and Canada). Hydrol Process 14:867–885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milhous RT, Waddle TJ (2012) Physical habitat simulation (PHABSIM) Software for Windows (v.1.5.1). USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller JR, Hobbs RJ (2007) Habitat restoration—do we know what we’re doing? Restor Ecol 15:382–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mork L, Houston R (2015) 2014 Whychus Creek monitoring report. Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Bend, OR

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris C, Sutton R (2007) Instream flow assessment Upper Lemhi River and Canyon Creek, Idaho. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Snake River Area Office, Boise, ID

    Google Scholar 

  • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (2003) Columbia basin water transaction program (water entity) annual report. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Portland, OR

    Google Scholar 

  • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (2013) Columbia basin water transaction program: stories from the field. http://www.cbwtp.org/jsp/cbwtp/stories/stories.jsp?year=2013. Accessed 12 May 2017

  • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (2000) 2000 Federal Columbia river power system biological opinion. NMFS, Seattle, WA, http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov. Accessed 12 May 2016

    Google Scholar 

  • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (2009) Biological opinion and Magnuson-Stevens fisheries conservation and management act consultation for diversions located on the Salmon-Challis National Forest in the Lemhi River Watershed, HUC 17060204. Lemhi Co, Idaho. NMFS, Seattle, WA

    Google Scholar 

  • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (2011) Endangered species act status of west coast salmon and steelhead. NMFS, Seattle, WA

    Google Scholar 

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2008) Remand of 2004 biological opinion on the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) including 19 Bureau of Reclamation Projects in the Columbia Basin (Revised pursuant to court order, NWF v NMFS, Civ No CV 01-640-RE (D Oregon)). U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Regional Office, Seattle, WA

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (2004) Managing the Columbia river basin: instream flows, water withdrawals, and salmon survival. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell TK, Galat DL (2008) Evaluating success criteria and project monitoring in river enhancement within an adaptive management framework. Environ Manage 41:90–105. doi:10.1007/s00267-007-9010-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson SA, Norris JM (2007) U.S. Geological Survey Streamgaging. U.S. Geological Survey. Fact Sheet 2005-3131

  • Palmer M, Allan JD, Meyer J, Bernhardt ES (2007) River restoration in the twenty-first century: data and experiential knowledge to inform future efforts. Restor Ecol 15:472–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulsen CM, Fisher TR (2005) Do habitat actions affect juvenile survival? An information-theoretic approach applied to endangered snake river Chinook salmon. Trans Am Fish Soc 134:68–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne JT, Wood AW, Hamlet AF, Palmer RN, Lettenmaier DP (2004) Mitigating the effects of climate change on the water resources of the Columbia River basin. Clim Change 62:233–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petts GE (2009) Instream flow science for sustainable river management. J Am Water Resour Assoc 45:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Allan JD, Bain MB, Karr JR, Prestegaard KL, Richter BD et al. (1997) The natural flow regime. BioScience 47:769–784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Allan JD, Hart DD, Richter BD, Meyer JL, Palmer MA, Stanford JA (2003) Environmental science and water conflicts: five steps to improved scientific decision-making. Front Ecol Environ1:298–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Richter BD, Arthington AH, Bunn SE, Naiman RJ, Kendy E et al. (2010) The ecological limits of hydrologic alteration (ELOHA): a new framework for developing regional environmental flow standards. Freshw Biol 55:147–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Zimmerman JKH (2010) Ecological responses to altered flow regimes: a literature review to inform the science and management of environmental flows. Freshw Biol 55:194–205. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02272.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn TP (2011) The behavior and ecology of Pacific salmon and trout. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC

    Google Scholar 

  • Rantz SE (1983) Measurement and computation of streamflow: volume 1. Measurement of stage and discharge. United States Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2175. Library of Congress Cataloging, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Rayner TS, Jenkins KM, Kingsford RT (2009) Small environmental flows, drought and the role of refugia for freshwater fish in the Macquarie Marshes, arid Australia. Ecohydrology 2:440–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves GH, Benda LE, Burnett KM, Bisson PA, Sedell JR (1995) A disturbance-based ecosystem approach to maintaining and restoring freshwater habitats of evolutionarily significant units of anadromous salmonids in the Pacific Northwest. Am Fish Soc Symp 17:334–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter BD, Braun DP, Mendelson MA, Master LL (1996) Threats to imperiled freshwater fauna. Conserv Biol 11:1081–1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richter BD, Warner AT, Meyer JL, Lutz K (2006) A collaborative and adaptive process for developing environmental flow recommendations. River Res Appl 22:297–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richter BD, Davis MM, Apse C, Konrad C (2011) A presumptive standard for environmental flow protection. River Res Appl 28:1312–1321. doi:10.1002/rra.1511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roni P, Hanson K, Beechie T (2008) Global review of the physical and biological effectiveness of stream habitat rehabilitation techniques. N Am J Fish Manage 28:856–890. doi:10.1577/M06-169.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rumps JM, Katz SL, Barnas K, Morehead MD, Jenkinson R, Clayton SR, Goodwin P (2007) Stream restoration in the Pacific Northwest: analysis of interviews with project managers. Restor Ecol 15:506–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solazzi MF, Nickelson TE, Johnson SL, Rodgers JD (2000) Effects of increasing winter rearing habitat on abundance of salmonids in two coastal Oregon streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 57:906–914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souchon Y, Sabaton C, Deibel R, Reiser D, Kershner J, Gard M, Katapodis C, Leonard P, Poff NL, Miller WJ, Lamb BL (2008) Detecting biological responses to flow management: missed opportunities: future directions. Riv Res Appl 24:506–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suding KN, Hobbs RJ (2009) Threshold models in restoration and conservation: a developing framework. Trends Ecol Evol 24:271–279. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.11.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton R, Morris C (2005) Instream flow assessment Big Eightmile Creek, Bohannon Creek, and Hayden Creek, Idaho: Bureau of Reclamation. Technical Services Center, Denver, CO, p 183

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamarisk Coalition (2012) Watershed governance structures & funding mechanisms considerations for a Colorado river basin restoration initiative. Grand Junction, CO. http://tamariskcoalition.org/resource-center/documents/watershed-governance-structures-funding-mechanisms. Accessed 21 Feb 2017

  • Tharme RE (2003) A global perspective on environmental flow assessment: emerging trends in the development and application of environmental flow methodologies for rivers. River Res Appl 19:397–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (2013) National hydrography geodatabase: The National Map viewer available on the World Wide Web. http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/nhd.html?p=nhd. Accessed 13 Feb 2017

  • Walters CJ (1986) Adaptive management of renewable resources. Macmillan Publishers Ltd, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Walters CJ, Holling CS (1990) Large-scale management experiments and learning by doing. Ecology 71:2060–2068

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman CE, Ratliff DE (2003) Controls on the distribution and life history of fish populations in the Deschutes river: geology, hydrology, and dams. Peculiar River 7:51–70

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding for the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program is provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Bonneville Power Administration, and Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The authors wish to thank those organizations, as well as the on-the-ground partners, for their generous support of the program and the analysis presented in this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aylward, McCoy, and Pilz Consulting LLC, PO Box 1892, Beaverton, OR, 97075, USA

    Amy L. McCoy & Brett A. Boisjolie

  2. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 421 SW 6th Ave, Suite 950, Portland, OR, 97204, USA

    S. Rankin Holmes

Authors
  1. Amy L. McCoy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Rankin Holmes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Brett A. Boisjolie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy L. McCoy.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

McCoy, A.L., Holmes, S.R. & Boisjolie, B.A. Flow Restoration in the Columbia River Basin: An Evaluation of a Flow Restoration Accounting Framework. Environmental Management 61, 506–519 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0926-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0926-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation