The River Health Assessment Framework (RHAF) – A holistic functional assessment tool for stream management and restoration planning
Wednesday, March 8, Noon – 1 p.m. MT
Water supply. Conveyance. Recreation. Aesthetics. Ecosystem support. Habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species. These are just a few of the valuable functions that healthy and resilient streams and rivers provide. Stream management plans guide decision-makers seeking to maintain ecosystem health and resiliency while meeting community needs for land and water use. The river health assessment framework (RHAF) provides a foundation for stream management plans by incorporating data from a wide variety of river-related scientific disciplines into a holistic assessment of river functional condition that considers all the fundamental factors affecting river and riparian health. It serves as a platform for evaluating the impacts of various land use and water management options.
The newly developed Colorado RHAF evaluates the functional condition of a river reach using 10 variables and 25 subvariables to describe essential attributes of the watershed and the site itself. In this webinar, we briefly explain how an evaluator integrates best available evidence from field observations, surveys, measurements, and monitoring studies to diagnose the degree and causes of impairment for each variable. Results are compiled into a concise and intuitive river health report card.
River Health Assessment Framework
| Watershed attributes | Site attributes | | Flow regime | Floodplain function | | Sediment regime | Riparian condition | | Organic materials | River form | | Water quality | Resilience | | Habitat connectivity | Physical structure |
Presenter biographies
Mark Beardsley. Mark's experience is grounded in a diverse educational and practical background. He holds B.S. degrees in chemistry and biology, an M.S. in ecology, and supplemental studies in environmental philosophy and mathematics, along with more than 20 years hands-on field experience as a stream, riparian and wetlands scientist. Mark specializes in interpreting scientific data to assess the functional condition of streams and wetlands and to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration and mitigation. He is a leader in the development, testing, and implementation of Colorado's FACWet, FACStream, and RHAF functional assessment methods and is well-versed in all the common ecological and geomorphic assessment frameworks. As a freelance scientist and principal of EcoMetrics, Mark designed and carried out ecological research projects, hundreds of site-scale assessments, watershed inventories, and stream and wetland restoration projects that use natural approaches.
Brad Johnson. After completing undergraduate work in Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brad went on to complete a Master’s, Doctorate and Post-doctorate fellowship at Colorado State University studying wetland ecology and functioning. Brad’s research since then has focused on ecological health assessment at multiple scales and wetland restoration, particularly for use as Clean Water Act compensatory mitigation. Brad was a research scientist with the Department of Biology at Colorado State University for 16 years, where he carried out a long-term program developing technical tools for wetland, stream and watershed health assessment, designed for use in the Clean Water Act Section 404 program. Now that this research has yielded a complete health assessment toolbox, Brad and his company, Johnson Environmental Consulting, LLC are shifting their attention to bringing that assessment technology to bear on questions of watershed and stream management. Most recently Brad was the technical lead on the development of the City of Fort Collins’ Poudre River Health Assessment Framework which adapted Functional Assessment of Colorado Streams to meet the management needs of the City of Fort Collins.
Register for the March 8 webinar here.
Stream Management Planning – Merging science and stakeholder involvement to support river health and community needs
Wednesday, March 22, Noon – 1 p.m. MT
Rivers play an important role to all members of a community, and people with a wide range of interests have a stake in how rivers and the lands around them are managed. Engaging stakeholders in a process that incorporates their interests is critical for stream management plans to be effective and practicable. In this webinar, we describe the practical aspects of stream management planning, including understanding values and interests, assessing available resources and capabilities, and evaluating potential management strategies. This process overlays a rigorous scientific assessment using the River Health Assessment Framework (RHAF). Successfully communicating these scientific findings and their management implications to a diversity of stakeholders is critical to developing a community-supported and executable plan. Recently-completed and in-process stream management plans provide working examples of how detailed scientific analysis and community input come together for evaluating the costs and benefits associated with alternative land use, water management, and restoration scenarios.
Presenter biographies
Seth Mason. Seth Mason is the Principal Hydrologist at Lotic Hydrological, a consulting firm based in Carbondale, CO. He received his M.S. in Land Resources and Environmental Sciences from Montana State University and his B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He specializes in hydrological modeling; stream characterization; deployment and operation of data collection and management systems; and development and coordination of water quality monitoring and assessment activities. Seth works extensively with city and county governments, federal agencies, and 501(c)3 organizations on a variety of watershed, land use, water quality, and water quantity issues.
Julie Baxter. Julie is a Senior Associate with Acclivity Associates and lives in Steamboat Springs, CO. She is a certified planner and floodplain manager with 13 years of experience assisting federal, state, and local governments in strategic planning, outreach and communications, and mitigation and resiliency planning. She enjoys developing stakeholder engagement and outreach activities to support highly technical projects. Her past experience includes serving as the program manager for the natural hazards mitigation planning program for FEMA Region VIII in Denver from 2009-2015. Prior to FEMA, Julie worked in the private sector as a project manager, as the communications specialist at the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center, and as a GIS and natural resources specialist for the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife. Julie has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon.
Mark Beardsley. Mark's experience is grounded in a diverse educational and practical background. He holds B.S. degrees in chemistry and biology, an M.S. in ecology, and supplemental studies in environmental philosophy and mathematics, along with more than 20 years hands-on field experience as a stream, riparian and wetlands scientist. Mark specializes in interpreting scientific data to assess the functional condition of streams and wetlands and to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration and mitigation. He is a leader in the development, testing, and implementation of Colorado's FACWet, FACStream, and RHAF functional assessment methods and is well-versed in all the common ecological and geomorphic assessment frameworks. As a freelance scientist and principal of EcoMetrics, Mark designed and carried out ecological research projects, hundreds of site-scale assessments, watershed inventories, and stream and wetland restoration projects that use natural approaches.
Register for the March 22 webinar here. |
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