Identifying, Restoring and Protecting Critical Coldwater Refugia in the High Desert Owyhee Subbasin
Location
USU Eccles Conference Center
Abstract
Trout Unlimited (TU) has developed a new Home Waters project to improve redband habitat in the Owyhee Watershed of Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon. In this high desert landscape, identifying coldwater refugia areas and protecting them is critical to improving the habitat for redband trout.
TU uses landscape-scale thermography and climate change modeling data to locate and prioritize cold water refugia and guide on-the-ground restoration actions.
• Review key linkages b/w redband populations and riparian habitat conditions • Develop stream temperature and riparian vegetation measures of redband trout habitat that can be used for broad-scale assessment and monitoring • Develop linkages between landscape-scale measures of stream temperature and riparian vegetation and redband trout distribution and abundance
• Integrate landscape-scale measures of stream temperature and riparian vegetation into TU’s Conservation Success Index as a tool that can help inform strategic redband trout conservation The modeling tools target where landowner knowledge is sought and working together we improve water availability for redband trout as well as cattle operations.
Identifying, Restoring and Protecting Critical Coldwater Refugia in the High Desert Owyhee Subbasin
USU Eccles Conference Center
Trout Unlimited (TU) has developed a new Home Waters project to improve redband habitat in the Owyhee Watershed of Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon. In this high desert landscape, identifying coldwater refugia areas and protecting them is critical to improving the habitat for redband trout.
TU uses landscape-scale thermography and climate change modeling data to locate and prioritize cold water refugia and guide on-the-ground restoration actions.
• Review key linkages b/w redband populations and riparian habitat conditions • Develop stream temperature and riparian vegetation measures of redband trout habitat that can be used for broad-scale assessment and monitoring • Develop linkages between landscape-scale measures of stream temperature and riparian vegetation and redband trout distribution and abundance
• Integrate landscape-scale measures of stream temperature and riparian vegetation into TU’s Conservation Success Index as a tool that can help inform strategic redband trout conservation The modeling tools target where landowner knowledge is sought and working together we improve water availability for redband trout as well as cattle operations.
Comments
Pam Harrington has been restoring trout habitat with Trout Unlimited since 2006. Serving as TU’s Southwest Idaho Restoration Coordinator she worked in the forested mountains on abandoned minelands projects and now she focused on the high desert of the Owyhees, restoring streams on operating cattle ranches.
Before coming to Trout Unlimited, Pam worked for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality in the Water Program. She managed the 319 grants program for the Boise Regional Office and funded water quality improvement projects. Pam has a BS in Environmental Health and has worked for large corporations, state government and now a nonprofit to round out her career.