Dam removal is an approach to river restoration that is becoming increasingly common. In most cases, dam removal is driven by considerations other than river restoration like dam safety, but how dam removal affects aquatic and riparian systems is of great interest in many dam removals. My work in this area has had two areas of focus thus far: 1) studies of vegetation and geomorphic change associated with dam removal along the Elwha River, Washington, where the world’s largest dam removals occurred in recent years; 2) syntheses of dam removal effects.
Return to Riparian Ecology or Aquatic Systems
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Riparian Ecology
Below are publications associated with this project.
Synthesis of common management concerns associated with dam removal
Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: river channel and floodplain geomorphic change
Early vegetation development on an exposed reservoir: Implications for dam removal
Potential responses of riparian vegetation to dam removal
- Overview
Dam removal is an approach to river restoration that is becoming increasingly common. In most cases, dam removal is driven by considerations other than river restoration like dam safety, but how dam removal affects aquatic and riparian systems is of great interest in many dam removals. My work in this area has had two areas of focus thus far: 1) studies of vegetation and geomorphic change associated with dam removal along the Elwha River, Washington, where the world’s largest dam removals occurred in recent years; 2) syntheses of dam removal effects.
Return to Riparian Ecology or Aquatic Systems
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Riparian Ecology
Riparian ecologists at the Fort Collins Science Center study interactions among flow, channel change, and vegetation along rivers across the western United States and worldwide. Our work focuses on issues relevant to the management of water and public lands, including dam operation, climate change, invasive species, and ecological restoration. Investigations take place on a range of scales. For... - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Synthesis of common management concerns associated with dam removal
Managers make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams in spite of uncertainty surrounding physical and ecological responses, and stakeholders often raise concerns about certain negative effects, regardless of whether or not these concerns are warranted at a particular site. We used a dam-removal science database supplemented with other information sources to explore seven frequently-raised cAuthorsDesiree D. Tullos, Mathias J. Collins, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jennifer A. Bountry, Patrick J. Connolly, Patrick B. Shafroth, Andrew C. WilcoxLarge-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: river channel and floodplain geomorphic change
A substantial increase in fluvial sediment supply relative to transport capacity causes complex, large-magnitude changes in river and floodplain morphology downstream. Although sedimentary and geomorphic responses to sediment pulses are a fundamental part of landscape evolution, few opportunities exist to quantify those processes over field scales. We investigated the downstream effects of sedimenAuthorsAmy E. East, George R. Pess, Jennifer A. Bountry, Christopher S. Magirl, Andrew C. Ritchie, Joshua B. Logan, Timothy J. Randle, Mark C. Mastin, Justin Toby Minear, Jeffrey J. Duda, Martin C. Liermann, Michael L. McHenry, Timothy J. Beechie, Patrick B. ShafrothEarly vegetation development on an exposed reservoir: Implications for dam removal
The 4-year drawdown of Horsetooth Reservoir, Colorado, for dam maintenance, provides a case study analog of vegetation response on sediment that might be exposed from removal of a tall dam. Early vegetation recovery on the exposed reservoir bottom was a combination of (1) vegetation colonization on bare, moist substrates typical of riparian zones and reservoir sediment of shallow dams and (2) a shAuthorsG.T. Auble, P.B. Shafroth, M.L. Scott, J. E. RoellePotential responses of riparian vegetation to dam removal
Throughout the world, riparian habitats have been dramatically modified from their natural condition. Dams are one of the principal causes of these changes, because of their alteration of water and sediment regimes (Nilsson and Berggren 2000). Because of the array of ecological goods and services provided by natural riparian ecosystems (Naiman and Decamps 1997), their conservation and restorationAuthorsP.B. Shafroth, J. M. Friedman, G.T. Auble, M.L. Scott, J.H. Braatne