Author(s):
Richard Marston* - Kansas State University and U.S. Department of State
Abstract:
One of the major themes in geomorphic research that has been investigated by Jim Knox over the past four decades is human impact on stream channels and floodplains. A 2010 NSF sponsored workshop in Eugene, Oregon, on human-landscape interactions identified new questions and challenges. The workshop, and follow-up report led by Anne Chin, called attention is being called to integrative themes: thresholds/tipping points, time scales/time lags, spatial scales and boundaries, and feedback loops. Attention was also called to integrative tools: coupled human-interaction models, use of mixed methods, and linking diverse datasets. The purpose of this presentation is to 1) highlight how these integrative themes and tools proved valuable in several of my riverscape research projects; and 2) discuss to what extent scientific findings led to changes in resource management. Examples to be discussed include the reclamation plan developed for the Colowyo Coal Mine in northwest Colorado, studies of large woody debris in forested streams of the central Oregon Coast Range, sediment sources in Fifteenmile Creek watershed in north-central Wyoming, and a study of the effect of Jackson Lake Dam on the Snake River and its floodplain in Grand Teton National Park.
