Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)-A Map-Based Resource Linking Scientific Studies and Associated Geospatial Information about Dam Removals Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)-A Map-Based Resource Linking Scientific Studies and Associated Geospatial

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747). For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Duda, J.J., Wieferich, D.J., Bristol, R.S., Bellmore, J.R., Hutchison, V.B., Vittum, K.M., Craig, Laura, and Warrick, J.A., 2016, Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP) Abstract The removal of dams has recently increased over historical levels due to aging infrastructure, changing societal needs, and modern safety standards rendering some dams obsolete. Where possibilities for river restoration, or improved safety, exceed the benefits of retaining a dam, removal is more often being considered as a viable option. Yet, as this is a relatively new development in the history of river management, science is just beginning to guide our understanding of the physical and ecological implications of dam removal. Ultimately, the "lessons learned" from previous scientific studies on the outcomes dam removal could inform future scientific understanding of ecosystem outcomes, as well as aid in decision-making by stakeholders. We created a database visualization tool, the Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP), to display map-based, interactive information about the scientific studies associated with dam removals. Serving both as a bibliographic source as well as a link to other existing databases like the National Hydrography Dataset, the derived National Dam Removal Science Database serves as the foundation for a Web-based application that synthesizes the existing scientific studies associated with dam removals. Thus, using the DRIP application, users can explore information about completed dam removal projects (for example, their location, height, and date removed), as well as discover sources and details of associated of scientific studies. As such, DRIP is intended to be a dynamic collection of scientific information related to dams that have been removed in the United States and elsewhere. This report describes the architecture and concepts of this "metaknowledge" database and the DRIP visualization tool

Landscape context and the biophysical response of rivers to dam removal in the United States.

Dams have been a fundamental part of the U.S. national agenda over the past two hundred years. Recently, however, dam removal has emerged as a strategy for addressing aging, obsolete infrastructure and more than 1,100 dams have been removed since the 1970s. However, only 130 of these removals had any ecological or geomorphic assessments, and fewer than half of those included before- and after-removal (BAR) studies. In addition, this growing, but limited collection of dam-removal studies is limited to distinct landscape settings. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare the landscape context of existing and removed dams and assessed the biophysical responses to dam removal for 63 BAR studies. The highest concentration of removed dams was in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, and most have been removed from 3rd and 4th order streams, in low-elevation (< 500 m) and low-slope (< 5%) watersheds that have small to moderate upstream watershed areas (10-1000 km2) with a low risk of habitat degradation. Many of the BAR-studied removals also have these characteristics, suggesting that our understanding of responses to dam removals is based on a limited range of landscape settings, which limits predictive capacity in other environmental settings. Biophysical responses to dam removal varied by landscape cluster, indicating that landscape features are likely to affect biophysical responses to dam removal. However, biophysical data were not equally distributed across variables or clusters, making it difficult to determine which landscape features have the strongest effect on dam-removal response. To address the inconsistencies across dam-removal studies, we provide suggestions for prioritizing and standardizing data collection associated with dam removal activities

Ecoregions.

<p>EPA Level III Ecoregions for existing and removed dams in the U.S., and before-after-removal studies.</p

Principal Components Analysis results.

<p>Principal Components Analysis results for (a) all dam removals (57 clusters); (b) all studied dam removals (36 clusters); and (c) before-after studied dam removals (32 clusters). The number of clusters in (a) was determined from a cluster analysis; clusters in (b) and (c) show how many original clusters were represented in those subsets.</p

Reported biophysical metrics.

<p>Reported biophysical metrics.</p

Landscape variables.

<p>Landscape variables.</p

Measurement metrics.

<p>Measurement metrics.</p

Anthropogenic landscape context.

<p>Anthropogenic landscape context.</p

Biophysical responses to dam removal.

<p>Biophysical response for all before- and after-removal studies (top row) and within each distinct geographic cluster.</p

Principal component loadings.

<p>Principal component loadings.</p