Location
UMass Amherst
Start Date
28-6-2011 11:20 AM
End Date
28-6-2011 11:40 AM
Description
The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with members of the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA), has developed a dam assessment dataset ru1d tool for the NEAFWA region (Maine-Virginia). The dataset and tool provide a screening-level assessment of the relative benefits of dam mitigation to fish passage. Dam data was collected from multiple sources including various state agencies and the Army Corps’ national Inventory of Dams. The dam data was edited for topological agreement with the NHDPlus 1: 100,000 scale hydrography and was extensively reviewed in a GIS by TNC and NEAFWA members prior to the analysis to maximize accuracy. Waterfall data was gathered from the Geographical Names Information System (GNIS) database and anadromous fish data was obtained from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) 2006 database, assigned to the NHDPlus hydrography, and provided to state contacts for review. For each dam in the reviewed dataset, a suite of metrics assessing connectivity status, potential connectivity improvement, local and watershed habitat conditions, ecological factors, and habitat diversity proxies were calculated. Relative weights were assigned to each metric by the project’s workgroup and aranked list of dams in the study area was produced based on these weighted metrics. Additionally, a database tool that allows users to select a particular spatial extent (state, HUC) for the analysis and input revised metric weights was developed. Future improvements may include conducting the analysis at a finer scale (using 1:24.000 scale hydrography) and the production of a tool which allows for assessments to be conducted given iterative removal scenarios.
Session C4- Northeast aquatic connectivity assessment
UMass Amherst
The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with members of the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA), has developed a dam assessment dataset ru1d tool for the NEAFWA region (Maine-Virginia). The dataset and tool provide a screening-level assessment of the relative benefits of dam mitigation to fish passage. Dam data was collected from multiple sources including various state agencies and the Army Corps’ national Inventory of Dams. The dam data was edited for topological agreement with the NHDPlus 1: 100,000 scale hydrography and was extensively reviewed in a GIS by TNC and NEAFWA members prior to the analysis to maximize accuracy. Waterfall data was gathered from the Geographical Names Information System (GNIS) database and anadromous fish data was obtained from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) 2006 database, assigned to the NHDPlus hydrography, and provided to state contacts for review. For each dam in the reviewed dataset, a suite of metrics assessing connectivity status, potential connectivity improvement, local and watershed habitat conditions, ecological factors, and habitat diversity proxies were calculated. Relative weights were assigned to each metric by the project’s workgroup and aranked list of dams in the study area was produced based on these weighted metrics. Additionally, a database tool that allows users to select a particular spatial extent (state, HUC) for the analysis and input revised metric weights was developed. Future improvements may include conducting the analysis at a finer scale (using 1:24.000 scale hydrography) and the production of a tool which allows for assessments to be conducted given iterative removal scenarios.
Comments
Erik Martin is a GIS Analyst at The Nature’s Conservancy’s Eastern U.S. Freshwater Program. Erik is currently working on aquatic connectivity issues in the region, with a focus on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. He previously worked on terrestrial connectivity issues for The Nature Conservancy in Maine and on soil and sediment remediation projects for an international environmental consulting firm. He received a B.A. from College of the Atlantic and a Master’s in GIS from Pennsylvania State University.
Colin Apse is a freshwater conservation scientist at The Nature Conservancy’s Eastern U.S. and Africa Freshwater Programs. Colin is working with TNC and partners on environmental flow protection and restoration, aquatic connectivity restoration, climate change adaptation, and targeted land protection - including leading the collaborative Northeast Aquatic Connectivity Assessment Project across thirteen states. As part of TNC’s Africa Program, Colin is helping to set up an integrated conservation project on Lake Tanganyika. Colin received a B.A. from Duke University and a Masters in Environmental Management from Yale University and is based in Brunswick, Maine.