Ecosystem Stressors

• Threats to Western United States Riparian Ecosystems: A Bibliography
  This bibliography is a compendium of state-of-knowledge publications about the threats affecting western U.S. riparian ecosystems. The bibliography is ordered alphabetically and the type of threats discussed in each publication is highlighted. These... Read More
• Hanging in the Balance - Why Our Rivers Need Water and Why We Need Healthy Rivers
  This document provides an introduction to environmental flows, models for E-flow recovery, describes rivers in peril and watershed health, and provides recommendations for restoring E-flow. 
• New Visions. Smart Choices. Western Water Security in a Changing Climate
  This report spotlights successful, sustainable and economically sensible steps ten communities are taking to make sure they will have water in the decades to come. 
• Tamarix - A Case Study of Ecological Change in the American West
  Written by 44 of the field's most prominent scholars and scientists, this volume compiles 25 essays on tamarisk--its biology, ecology, politics, management, and the ethical issues involved with designating a particular species as "good" or... Read More
• Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study Executive Summary
  The purpose of the Study, funded by the Bureau of Reclamation, was to define current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the Basin and the adjacent areas of the Basin States that receive Colorado River water over the next 50 years (... Read More
• Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study: Study Report
  The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (Study), initiated in January 2010, was conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) Upper Colorado and Lower Colorado regions, and agencies representing the seven Colorado... Read More
• Study of Long-Term Augmentation Options for the Water Supply of the Colorado River System
  The Seven Colorado River Basin States are implementing a proactive program to meet the needs of the Colorado River Basin and to provide continued stewardship of the Colorado River. As part of this program, 12 potential options were evaluated in terms of... Read More
• The State of Colorado's Diversity
  This biodiversity scorecard provides a snapshot of the current conservation status of Colorado's rare and imperiled species, and its most widespread ecological systems. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program took a systematic and repeatable approach... Read More
• Practical Grazing Management to Maintain or Restore Riparian Functions and Values on Rangelands
  Abstract:   Successful rangeland management maintains or restores the ability of riparian plant communities to capture sediment and stabilize streambanks. Management actions are most effective when they are focused on the vegetated streambank... Read More
• Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) Software
  Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) is a software program, developed by The Nature Conservancy, that provides useful information for those trying to understand the hydrologic impacts of human activities or trying to develop environmental flow... Read More
• Roadmap for Considering Water for Arizona's Natural Areas
  The Roadmap for Considering Water for Arizona’s Natural Areas contains information on the current scientific understanding of water for natural areas and existing legal considerations for providing water to natural areas, examples of where natural... Read More
• Mechanisms of Vegetation-Induced Channel Narrowing on an Unregulated Canyon-Bound River
  Based on research conducted on the lower White River in Colorado, it was found that tamarisk establishment enhanced not only sediment deposition that leads to channel narrowing, but also to new vegetation establishment. Plants increased the friction... Read More
• Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Colorado Bureau of Land Management
  This document presents a statewide assessment on the potential future influences of a changing climate on species and ecosystems of particular importance to the Bureau of Land Management within Colorado, with the goal of facilitating development of the... Read More
• The Vanishing Santa Cruz River
  This Information Brief by the National Park Services discusses changes in the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona. 
• Colorado Water Trust - Request for Water 2012-13: Water Rights Leasing for Rivers; Amy Beatie
• Tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) Invasion and Fire in Desert Riparian Ecosystems; Gail Drus
• The Reality of Climate Change and the Need for Genetics Approaches in Riparian Restoration; Thomas Whitham
• Condit Decommissioning Project; Russ Howison
• Site Management in the Wake of Dam Removal; Adam Milnor
• Water Challenges in the Colorado River Basin; Peter Culp
• A Dam Sandwich and a Changing Side Salad: Sediment and Vegetation Change on the Lower San Juan River, Southeast Utah; Cynthia Dott
• Variable Response of Willow and Cottonwood to Hydrology of River Regulation in SW CO; Cynthia Dott
• Guidance for Stream Restoration and Rehabilitation
  A great deal of effort has been devoted to developing guidance for stream restoration and rehabilitation. The available resources are diverse, reflecting the wide ranging approaches used and expertise required to develop stream restoration projects. To... Read More
• Riparian research and management: Past, present, future: Volume 1
    Author(s): R. Roy Johnson; Steven W. Carothers; Deborah M. Finch; Kenneth J. Kingsley; John T. Stanley   Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions... Read More
• Riparian Vegetation Response to High-Magnitude Dam Releases on the Dolores River, SW Colorado; Cynthia Dott and Julie Knudson
        Riparian Vegetation Response to High-Magnitude Dam Releases on the Dolores River, SW Colorado   Cynthia Dott1*, Julie Knudson2*   1 Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango CO USA; dott_c@... Read More
• Case Studies of Riparian and Watershed Restoration in the Southwestern United States - Principles, Challenges, and Successes
  The U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center convened a workshop June 23-25, 2015, in Flagstaff, Ariz. for practitioners in restoration science to share general principles, successful restoration practices, and discuss... Read More
• The effects of riparian restoration following saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol on habitat and herpetofauna along a desert stream
  Authors: Kent R. Mosher, Heather L. Bateman   Abstract: Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) have been linked to specific microhabitat characteristics, microclimates, and water resources in riparian forests. Our objective was to relate... Read More
• New Findings on the Climate Sensitivity of the Water Balance of the Upper Colorado River Basin; Chris Milly
      New Findings on the Climate Sensitivity of the Water Balance of the Upper Colorado River Basin   Chris Milly1   1 Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division, U.S. Geological Survey   The structure and... Read More
• Riparian research and management: Past, present, future: Volume 2
  Author(s): Steven W. Carothers; R. Roy Johnson; Deborah M. Finch; Kenneth J. Kingsley; Robert H. Hamre   In the Preface to volume 1, we discuss the development of riparian ecology as one of the newest of ecological... Read More
• Riparian System Responses to Fire and Flood Disturbance in Capulin Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, NM; Jamie Gottlieb
        Riparian System Responses to Fire and Flood Disturbance in Capulin Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, NM   Jamie Gottlieb1*, Patrick Shafroth2, Michael Scott3, Craig Allen4   1Northern Arizona... Read More