Trout population responses to restoration of stream flows.
There are numerous demands for the limited water supplies in the Rocky Mountain (USA) region, and controversies surrounding instream flows abound. A specific problem involves water diversions (i.e., small dams that shunt water out of stream channels) during the summer irrigation season. We developed an approach to assess the effects of restoration of natural or less-than-natural summer flows on trout that accounts for variation in habitat over long segments of low-gradient, alluvial-valley streams. The approach has utility for managers because it can be conducted with hydologic data, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and a spreadsheet without extensive fieldwork. We applied the approach by assessing the effects of different summer flows on abundance of brown trout ( Salmo trutta) in several streams annually dewatered in the Salt River Valley of western Wyoming. The assessment approach can be calibrated for other trout species and areas of the Rocky Mountain region.
Covington
J Scott
JS
US Geological Survey, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3166, USA.
Hubert
Wayne A
WA
D000818:Animals; D002138:Calibration; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014337:Trout; D014872:Water Movements; D014881:Water Supply