Overview
In November of 1999, Circuit Rider Productions, Inc. (CRP)
was awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to develop a Geographic Information System
(GIS) in support of salmonid recovery
planning for the Russian River watershed.
The Russian River Watershed GIS project is intended to
compile a set of standardized, spatial data in support of
recovery planning for three threatened salmonid species
in the Russian River basin - steelhead trout, chinook and
coho salmon. An additional benefit of the project will be
the availability of these spatial data to agency participants,
landowners and community groups. Participants and data contributors
involved with the Russian River Watershed GIS include agencies
that have developed spatially-referenced data for the Russian
River basin as well as agencies that have similar work or
parallel efforts underway in other regions.
The Russian River Watershed
The Russian River basin is a 1,485 square mile watershed
located in Sonoma and Mendocino counties in northern California.
The Russian River supports three species of anadromous
salmonids (steelhead, coho and chinook), and all are listed
as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Understanding the factors that have led to decline and identifying
current limiting factors while planning and prioritizing
restoration projects is critical to the effort to re-establish
healthy salmonid populations. Characterized by a diversity
of land use, including agriculture, urban, rural residential,
gravel mining and light industry, the watershed has undergone
significant change since European settlement. As a centralized
GIS information source, the RRGIS has compiled available
spatial information encompassing the Russian River watershed,
allowing for analysis of watershed features and processes.
Specific questions regarding salmonid life history and habitat
requirements, human impacts and environmental conditions
can begin to be addressed using the GIS information compiled
here.
The Russian River Watershed
GIS
The Russian River watershed was selected by NOAA Fisheries
for GIS database development because the basin represents
and is affected by many of the management issues found throughout
California that influence the recovery planning process.
Additionally, three federally listed salmonid species occur
in the Russian River basin, and the Russian River watershed
has relatively rich data sets currently available. The Russian
River watershed also has a history of active involvement
by agencies, the public and a watershed council, making
the Russian River watershed a suitable choice for the development
of a Geographic Information System and a potential demonstration
watershed for the application of GIS in recovery planning.
The following are the summarized tasks from the RRGIS scope
of work:
Tasks
Task 1: Convened the Russian River Watershed GIS
Group. The GIS Group consisted of agency personnel and other
knowledgeable individuals who acted in an advisory capacity
to the project. The GIS Group addressed issues such as appropriate
data to be included, appropriate scale of data and types
of analysis that are needed to support salmonid conservation
and restoration efforts.
Task 2: Gathered all high priority data relevant
to salmonid fishery conservation and restoration for the
Russian River basin. There is a large amount of fisheries
and other relevant natural resources data available for
the Russian River basin. This task involved obtaining those
data sets that had been identified by NOAA Fisheries and
the GIS Group as high priority for the initial phase of
the Russian River Watershed GIS.
Task 3: Developed "data needs analysis" (an examination
of what relevant datasets were in a non-spatial format or
needed to be created) criteria with NOAA Fisheries staff
and the Russian River Watershed GIS Group. After high priority
data were obtained and incorporated into a central GIS,
NOAA Fisheries and the GIS Group reviewed the data, developed
criteria for additional data gathering and created a prioritized
list of data for development.
Task 4: Developed new GIS data layers based on
the needs of NOAA Fisheries staff and recommendations from
the GIS Group. After completion of the data needs analysis
and development of a prioritized list of new GIS data layers,
CRP developed these new layers and incorporated them into
the Russian River Watershed GIS.
Task 5: Analyzed above data sets based on input
from the Russian River Watershed GIS Group and the Technical
Salmonid Advisory Committee. The
Technical Salmonid Advisory Committee included fisheries
biologists from California Department of Fish and Game,
State Water Resources Control Board, Sonoma County Water
Agency as well as members of NOAA Fisheries and Circuit
Rider Productions, Inc.
Task 6: Organized Russian River Watershed GIS
into a seamless format for inclusion in a larger interface
(such as the Russian River KRIS system and the Russian River Interactive
Information System).
Phase I Data Release
In April 2002, the RRGIS
Phase I Spatial Data CD was released for public use and
review. This initial data release was a way of distributing
a subset of the final GIS dataset, as well as an opportunity
for users to review and evaluate the data and its organization.
Reviewers’ comments and data users’ input regarding
the project and its components have been incorporated into
the final product. The datasets included on the RRGIS Phase
I Data Release represented a subset of the entire dataset
included on the final Russian River Watershed GIS product,
with all Phase I data incorporated into the final product.
For more information regarding
the Phase I Data Release, please click here.
Final Product
The finalized Russian River
GIS Project Data CD-ROM was released for public use in November,
2002. The CD is structured so that users may fully access
the spatial data as well as a predefined view of the data
through an ESRI ArcView project file. Textual content in
the form of .html files has been included on the CD to provide
the user with information describing the RRGIS, the project
partners/contributing agencies, the NOAA Fisheries recovery
planning process and contact information. To learn more
about the GIS data included in the Russian River GIS product
and how to order a CD click here.
To view demonstration analyses and associated maps that
were developed from RRGIS data, click here.
Please request a copy of the Russian River GIS CD-ROM by
contacting Circuit Rider Productions,
Inc.
Future recommendations
GIS is recognized as a powerful
tool that will enable NOAA Fisheries and other resource
agencies to compile and analyze information at multiple
temporal and spatial scales for salmonid recovery planning.
In order to understand limiting factors in salmonid production
and prioritize areas for preservation and restoration, data
is required for analysis at both the site-specific and the
watershed scale. GIS allows for more efficient and effective
analysis of salmonid habitat quality as well as restoration
prioritization. While GIS is recognized as a valuable tool,
the usefulness is dependent on the quality and completeness
of the data that comprises the GIS system. In order to ensure
that the Russian River GIS remains a powerful tool for salmonid
recovery, two future recommendations were identified:
1. Generation and
maintenance of spatial data: There is a need
for more, up-to-date spatial datasets that support salmonid
recovery planning for the Russian River watershed. Specifically,
these datasets include data on aquatic macro-invertebrates,
basin wide fish population and distribution data, salmonid
genetic data, barrier locations and historic biological
inventories. Additionally, there is a need for maintenance
of the existing spatial datasets that support salmonid limiting
factors analysis in the Russian River watershed.
2. Collaboration:
There is a need for continued discussion, partnerships and
collaboration between local, state and federal agencies
active in the Russian River watershed. A
significant amount of the data included in the Russian River
Watershed GIS is a direct result of multi-lateral agency
efforts and cooperation. It is recommended that collaboration
continue, so that future projects in support of salmonid
recovery represent the knowledge and interests of stakeholders
at the local, state and federal levels.
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