Ecological integrity assessment for Colorado wetlands: field manual, version 2.1

March 2016.Based on NatureServe's Ecological Integrity Assessment Framework.Includes bibliographical references (pages 59-62).Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) for Colorado wetlands is an assessment method that measures overall wetland condition with an emphasis on biological integrity. The method combines quantitative vegetation metrics with qualitative metrics that evaluate landscape context, hydrology, soils, water quality, and size into a multi-metric index. Final EIA scores rank a wetland's condition on a four-tiered scale (excellent/good/ fair/poor), as compared to unaltered wetlands of the same type.Funding provided by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Wetland Program Development Grants. Matching funds from Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Stand structures of Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and their relationships to the environment in southwestern Oregon

Large areas of non-coniferous communities in southwestern Oregon are thinned to reduce fire hazard and accomplish ecosystem restoration, under the assumption that current fuel loads are unnaturally high. Although Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands are a characteristic landscape component in this region, little is known about their current or historical stand structures. Managers lack information on which to base restoration-focused fuel reduction prescriptions. I inventoried 40 Oregon white oak dominated woodlands across 2 study areas in southwestern Oregon, and describe here their stand characteristics and age structures. I assessed whether these varied systematically with site conditions or recorded fire history. Stands included various proportions of single- and multiple-stemmed trees and a range of tree densities and diameter- and age-class distributions. Variables that may indicate site moisture status were weakly associated with multivariate gradients in stand structure, and fire history also appeared related to several stand structures. Peak establishment of living Oregon white oaks generally occurred during 1850-1890, sometimes occurred in the early 1900’s, and recruitment rates were low post-fire suppression. Recruitment of sapling-sized oak trees (< 10 cm dbh, 1.3 m tall) was generally low and their ages ranged from 5 to 164 yr; they were not necessarily recent recruits. The range of stand and age structures, and the variation in their apparent relations to site factors and history, suggests that site-by-site management prescriptions may more effectively accomplish restoration goals than do current treatments. Prescriptions should include follow-up monitoring with attention to effects on oak recruitment

Survey and assessment of critical urban wetlands: City of Aurora

Report prepared for: City of Aurora, U.S. Envronmental Protection Agency, Region 8.December 2020.Includes bibliographical references

Stand Structures of Oregon White Oak Woodlands, Regeneration, and Their Relationships to the Environment in Southwestern Oregon

Although Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands are a characteristic landscape component in southwestern Oregon, little is known about their current or historical stand structures. Meanwhile, fuel reduction thinning treatments that change stand structures in non-coniferous communities are ongoing and widespread on public lands in this region; some of these treatments also have restoration objectives. Managers need baseline information on which to base prescriptions that have a restoration focus. We inventoried 40 Oregon white oak dominated woodlands across two study areas in southwestern Oregon, and describe here their stand characteristics and age structures. We assessed whether these varied systematically with site conditions or recorded fire history. Stands included various proportions of single-and multiple-stemmed trees and a range of tree densities and diameter-and age-class distributions. Variables that may indicate site moisture status were weakly associated with multivariate gradients in stand structure. Peak establishment of living Oregon white oaks generally occurred during 1850-1890, sometimes occurred in the early 1900s, and recruitment rates were low post-fire suppression (similar to 1956). Recruitment of sapling-sized oak trees (= 1.3 m tall) was generally low and their ages ranged from 5 to 164 yr; they were not necessarily recent recruits. The observed wide range of variability in stand characteristics likely reflects the diversity of mechanisms that has shaped them, and suggests that a uniform thinning approach is unlikely to foster this natural range of variability.Keywords: Puget through, California, Fort Lewis, Prairies, Quercus garryana, Seedlings, Douglas-fir, Washington, Release, Communitie

North Platte River Basin wetland profile and condition assessment

Prepared for: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wetland Wildlife Conservation Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8.Includes bibliographical references (pages 88-93).This report summarizes finding from the second basinwide wetland condition assessment, conducted in the North Platte River Basin. The initial step in each project is to compile a "wetland profile" based on digital wetland mapping. Wetland profiles summarize the types, abundance, and distribution of wetlands among ecoregions and landownership within a given geographic area and can be used to establish baseline conditions, assess cumulative impacts, and inform conservation planning. The second step in each project is to conduct a field-based assessment of ecological condition and associated stressors that can be extrapolated to all wetland area in the basin. Assessing the ecological condition of wetlands within each basin provides a coarse filter for prioritizing on-the-ground efforts to protect and restore wetland habitat. Through this project, CPW and CNHP developed a wetland profile of the North Platte River Basin to document the spatial distribution of wetlands, conducted a field-based assessment of wetland condition, and used the data to estimate both overall condition of wetlands and the availability of wetland habitat across the basin

Revisit and condition assessment of target riparian areas on the Routt National Forest

Includes bibliographical references (pages 26-28)

Wetlands of the Lower Arkansas River Basin: ecological condition and water quality

Prepared for: Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Wetland Wildlife Conservation Program and EPA Region 8 Wetlands Program.April 2017.Includes bibliographical references.With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) are assessing the condition of wetlands in each major river basin within the state. The overarching goal of each project is to assess the extent, ecological condition, and habitat quality of wetlands within the basin. The Lower Arkansas Basin wetland assessment project is the fourth in this series and has been divided into two phases. Completed in 2015, the objectives of Phase 1 were to 1) create a digital map of wetlands in the Lower Arkansas Basin; 2) identify and assess a network of reference standard wetlands and riparian areas; and 3) research habitat requirements of target wetland-dependent wildlife species within the basin. This report documents work carried out under the second phase of the project. The objectives of Phase 2 were to 1) produce overall basin-wide estimates of ecological condition for wetlands and riparian areas in the basin by sampling a spatially balanced, randomly selected set of sites and 2) pilot the collection of water quality data in wetlands

Setting mitigation in the watershed context: demonstration and description of Colorado's watershed approach to compensatory wetland mitigation

Prepared for: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8.April 2013.Includes bibliographical references (pages 106-110).In a comprehensive evaluation of wetland mitigation, the National Research Council (NRC) concluded that the goal of no net loss of wetlands is not being met for wetland functions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s mitigation program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). One of the key science recommendations of the NRC was for compensatory mitigation decisions to be made using a watershed approach Acknowledging this conclusion, the ACOE and EPA issued a federal rule in April 2008 to increase the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation and called for setting mitigation decisions in the watershed context. While requiring a watershed-scale view of mitigation, the new rule did not provide guidance on how a watershed approach should be implemented. At that time, Colorado lacked the basic capacity to carry out the watershed approach, particularly a lack of spatial data for wetlands and no single guidance document on procedures for applying the watershed approach. Through this project, we developed a process that would allow the watershed approach to be successfully and consistently implemented across the state. The overarching objective of this project was to demonstrate how the watershed approach can be implemented and used to inform CWA Section 404 decisions. Results from the Fort Range study area highlight the need to understand the current state of wetland resources when deciding what impact mitigation proposals will have on a watershed. The last objective of the study was to compare the FACWet and EIA methods of wetland assessment. While the two methods share similar goals of assessing the condition of wetlands, FACWet aims to measure functional condition (driven by physical processes) and EIA aims to measure biotic condition (the response to cumulative stress). The overall results of this project clearly illustrate the power and utility of data for making informed decisions about wetland regulation and management on a watershed scale. The provisional Colorado Watershed Approach guidance document will serve as a valuable tool for all parties involved in wetland mitigation, and we look forward to input from users in the coming year. Lastly, the comparison of assessment methods will clarify the relative strengths and utility of the two major wetland assessment methods currently in use in the state of Colorado

Statewide strategies to improve effectiveness in protecting and restoring Colorado's wetland resource: including the Rio Grande Headwaters Pilot Wetland Condition Assessment

Prepared for: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wetland Wildlfie Conservation Program; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8.In collaboration with Brian Sullivan, Grant Wilcox, and Chris Johnson, Colorado Parks and Wildlife.July 2011.Includes bibliographical references