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Effects of Flooding and Tamarisk Removal on Habitat for Sensitive Fish Species in the San Rafael River, Utah: Implications for Fish Habitat Enhancement and Future Restoration Efforts

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Abstract

Tamarisk removal is a widespread restoration practice on rivers in the southwestern USA, but impacts of removal on fish habitat have rarely been investigated. We examined whether tamarisk removal, in combination with a large spring flood, had the potential to improve fish habitat on the San Rafael River in southeastern Utah. We quantified habitat complexity and the distribution of wood accumulation in a tamarisk removal site (treated) and a non-removal site (untreated) in 2010, 1 year prior to a large magnitude and long-duration spring flood. We used aerial imagery to analyze river changes in the treated and untreated sites. Areas of channel movement were significantly larger in the treated site compared to the untreated site, primarily because of geomorphic characteristics of the channel, including higher sinuosity and the presence of an ephemeral tributary. However, results suggest that tamarisk removal on the outside of meander bends, where it grows directly on the channel margins, can promote increased channel movement. Prior to the flood, wood accumulations were concentrated in sections of channel where tamarisk had been removed. Pools, riffles, and backwaters occurred more frequently within 30 m upstream and downstream of wood accumulations compared to areas within 30 m of random points. Pools associated with wood accumulations were also significantly larger and deeper than those associated with random points. These results suggest that the combination of tamarisk removal and wood input can increase the potential for channel movement during spring floods thereby diversifying river habitat and improving conditions for native fish.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the restoration work was provided by the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP). Additional funding for projects and support was received through the Bureau of Reclamation Actions to Avoid Jeopardy program, the Bureau of Land Management, the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the US Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (in-kind), and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Technical Center, Portland, Oregon. Barry Hamilton, Wayne Greenhalgh, and Ammon Boswell from the NRCS were instrumental in providing funding and support for this work. We would like to thank Nathan Owens and Mike Ault of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for their efforts in the field, Justin Hart for his oversight and management of this project, and Gary Thiede and Phaedra Budy for help with figure preparation and for providing editorial comments. Thanks to Ian Gowing and Austin Jensen from Aggie Air™ for their collaboration and quick processing of the 2011 imagery that made this work possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Southeastern Region Office, 319 Carbonville Rd., Suite A, Price, UT, 84501, USA

    Daniel L. Keller

  2. Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, 5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA

    Brian G. Laub & David J. Dean

  3. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Salt Lake Office, 1596 W. North Temple, Suite 2110, Salt Lake City, UT, 84116, USA

    Paul Birdsey

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  1. Daniel L. Keller
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Correspondence to Brian G. Laub.

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Keller, D.L., Laub, B.G., Birdsey, P. et al. Effects of Flooding and Tamarisk Removal on Habitat for Sensitive Fish Species in the San Rafael River, Utah: Implications for Fish Habitat Enhancement and Future Restoration Efforts. Environmental Management 54, 465–478 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0318-7

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