8 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Landscape Approaches: FISHPass: A Decision Support Tool for Optimizing Barrier Mitigation
Recommended from our members
Session A1- Basinwide approaches to prioritizing stream connectivity projects
Repairing, removing and retrofitting barriers (e.g., installing fish ladders) are seen as some of the most effective and cost-efficient means of habitat restoration available. However, in spite of the potential benefits, surprisingly little has been done with regard to the development of quantitative/analytic planning methods for prioritizing barrier repair and removal decisions. Our presentation will summarize efforts under way since 2006 to bring together state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations to build an inventory of fish passage barriers in Maine. We will present systemic methods for prioritizing the repair or removal of fish passage barriers for diadromous and resident fishes. Working with a variety of partners, we have developed GIS tools and budget-constrained optimization models for deciding which barriers to repair or remove in order to maximize habitat availability for stream resident fish and diadromous fish species
Recommended from our members
Session A4 - On the Cutting-Edge: Optimizing Fish Passage Mitigation Decisions in California Watersheds
The California Fish Passage Forum is a consortium of state and federal agencies and NGOs whose mandate is to improve fish passage in anadromous waters. The Forum is now embarking on the implementation of a state wide methodology for prioritizing the removal of artificial fish passage barriers. The methodology, which employs highly sophisticated optimization modeling and solution techniques, represents a radical improvement over standard, scoring-and-ranking type procedures commonly used for prioritizing barriers in the US, Canada and other parts of the world. Optimization based methods provide a systematic and objective means of targeting barrier mitigation decisions which maximize restoration gains given available resources. The optimization methodology being implemented by the Forum integrates information on barrier location, passability and cost together with river habitat and quality data for multiple target species in order to identify cost-efficient passage improvement strategies. Critically, the spatial structure of barriers and the interactive effects of passage improvement on longitudinal connectivity are explicitly taken into consideration. Another key feature of the Forum\u27s prioritization methodology is its ease of use. A user-friendly Windows based program, replete with a graphical user interface, has been implemented, allowing Forum members to quickly and easily generate optimized solutions as well as perform basic what-if analyses in terms of running different budget scenarios and or varying the relative weightings placed on individual target species
Recommended from our members
Concurrent Sessions C: Prioritization - On The Cutting-Edge: Optimizing Fish Passage Mitigation Decisions in California Watersheds
The California Fish Passage Forum is a consortium of state and federal agencies and NGO’s whose mandate is to improve fish passage in anadromous waters. The Forum is now embarking on the implementation of a state wide methodology for prioritizing the removal of artificial fish passage barriers. The methodology, which employs sophisticated optimization modeling and solution techniques, represents a radical improvement over standard, scoring-and-ranking type procedures commonly used for prioritizing barriers in the US, Canada and other parts of the world. Optimization based methods provide a systematic and objective means of targeting barrier mitigation decisions which maximize restoration gains given available resources. The optimization methodology being implemented by the Forum integrates information on barrier location, passability and cost together with river habitat and quality data for multiple target species in order to identify cost-efficient passage improvement strategies. Critically, the spatial structure of barriers and the interactive effects of passage improvement on longitudinal connectivity are explicitly taken into consideration. Another key feature of the Forum’s prioritization methodology is its ease of use. A user-friendly program called APASS (Anadromous Fish Passage Optimization Tool), replete with a graphical user interface, has been implemented, allowing Forum members to quickly and easily generate optimized solutions. Additional functionalities have been built into APASS for performing batch runs across a range of budget values and for performing basic what-if analyses such as varying the weights placed on different target species, changing the spatial focus (i.e., selecting subsets of watersheds) and forcing specific barriers in or out of the final optimal solution. Besides its use as a strategic planning tool for targeting high impact barriers across the state, APASS can also be used for screening among projects that have been submitted to the Forum for possible funding. APASS has been purposely designed as a generic planning tool that can be applied to any geographic area. It is available free for academic and non-commercial use
Recommended from our members
Session A1- An Optimization Planning Model for Maximizing habitat connectivity for stream resident fish
Systemic methods for prioritizing the repair and removal of fish passage barriers, while growing of late, have hitherto focused almost exclusively on meeting the needs of migratory fish species (e.g., anadromous salmonids). An important but as of yet unaddressed issue is the development of new modeling approaches which are applicable to resident fish species habitat restoration programs. In this talk, we develop a budget constrained optimization model for deciding which barriers to repair or remove in order to maximize habitat availability for stream resident fish. Habitat availability at the local stream reach is determined based on the recently proposed Cind metric, which accounts for the quality, distance and level of connectivity to different stream habitat types. We investigate the utility of the Cind metric, as well as assess the computational performance of our model using geospatial barrier and stream data collected from the Pine-Popple Watershed, located in northeast Wisconsin, USA. The Cind metric is found to be a statistically significant predictor of common resident fish species richness, indicating its usefulness in assessing the ecological impacts of barrier repair and removal decisions. We also find the optimizing model to be an efficient and practical decision support tool. Optimal solutions, which are useful in informing basin-wide restoration planning efforts, can be generated on average in only a few minutes
Recommended from our members
Restoring stream habitat connectivity: A proposed method for prioritizing the removal of resident fish passage barriers
Recommended from our members
Session C1: Prioritizing Barrier Removals in Great Lakes Tributaries: Balancing Tradeoffs Between Native and Invasive Fish Species
Abstract
Tributaries to the Great Lakes are highly fragmented by dams and road crossings that act as potential barriers to migratory fishes, restricting their access to historical riverine spawning grounds. There is growing investment in removing or modifying barriers to restore native fish migrations and ecosystem function, but these efforts may also increase available habitat for invasive sea lamprey. The restoration community lacks a systematic method for comparing these costs and benefits to assess which barrier removal projects would offer the greatest return on investment. To address this problem, we developed a basin-scale mathematical optimization model to prioritize barriers for removal on the basis of upstream breeding habitat for both native and invasive fishes. We parameterized the model using an extensive database of dams and road crossings; economic models of projected barrier removal and lampricide application costs; and historical data describing distributions of native and invasive species. We describe trade-offs resulting from increased habitat access for native migratory fishes and sea lamprey that would accompany different barrier removal scenarios. We further discuss the sensitivity of the model to uncertainty in estimates of tributary suitability for native and invasive species and investigate the benefit of simultaneously planning barrier removal and lamprey management actions