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Many wetland impoundments managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge System throughout the northern Great Plains rely on rivers as a primary water source. A large number of these impoundments currently are being stressed from changes in water supplies and quality, and these problems are forecast to worsen because of projected changes to climate and land use. For example, many managed wetlands in arid regions have become degraded owing to the long-term accumulation of salts and increased salinity associated with evapotranspiration. A primary goal of the USFWS is to provide aquatic habitats for a diversity of waterbirds; thus, wetland managers would benefit from a tool that facilitates evaluation of wetland habitat quality in response to current and anticipated impacts of altered hydrology and salt balances caused by factors such as climate change, water availability, and management actions. A spreadsheet model that simulates the overall water and salinity balance (WSB model) of managed wetland impoundments is presented. The WSB model depicts various habitat metrics, such as water depth, salinity, and surface areas (inundated, dry), which can be used to evaluate alternative management actions under various water-availability and climate scenarios. The WSB model uses widely available spreadsheet software, is relatively simple to use, relies on widely available inputs, and is readily adaptable to specific locations. The WSB model was validated using data from three National Wildlife Refuges with direct and indirect connections to water resources associated with rivers, and common data limitations are highlighted. The WSB model also was used to conduct simulations based on hypothetical climate and management scenarios to demonstrate the utility of the model for evaluating alternative management strategies and climate futures. The WSB model worked well across a range of National Wildlife Refuges and could be a valuable tool for USFWS staff when evaluating system state and management alternatives and establishing long-term goals and objectives. Introduction The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) encompasses over 150 million acres of diverse aquatic and terrestrial habitats throughout the United States that support a rich variety of wildlife and are critical to sustaining much of the Nation’s biotic diversity. In the northern Great Plains (fig. 1), a large number of national wildlife refuges (NWR) were established during the drought years of the 1930s to provide sanctuary and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Accordingly, a substantial number of these NWRs were located in river flood plains, and many contain managed lakes or impoundments that require inflows or diversions from lotic systems for primary water supply. Hence, the original design and placement of many NWRs and managed impoundments were influenced by climatic variation and the selection of these sites was predicated on the long-term availability of water from reliable sources. Changes in climate can affect natural wetland and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as industry (for example, agriculture, forestry, fisheries) and municipalities (Field and others, 2007). Recently, widespread concerns over global climate change have prompted syntheses of research on the mechanisms of change (Solomon and others, 2007) and the potential effects to ecological systems in the United States and northern Great Plains (Bridgham and others, 1995; Field and others, 2007; Brekke and others, 2009; Karl and others, 2009; Johnson and others, 2010). The most direct links between climate and aquatic ecosystems are hydrology and phenology. Changes in climate would potentially alter the hydrologic budget on a range of scales, from small wetlands (Johnson and others, 2010) to larger watersheds and their associated lakes and streams. Similarly, changes in regional temperature patterns associated with climate change would have a variety of effects ranging from altered rates of evapotranspiration to a shift in the timing of snowfall and spring snowmelt. Such changes could subsequently affect plant phenology, primary and 2 Model for Evaluating Climate, Water Availability, and Water Management on Wetland Impoundments secondary production, and ultimately, the distribution and size of wildlife populations (Field and others, 2007). Moreover, these types of direct impacts can be exacerbated through interactions with indirect effects associated with wetland management and ecosystem change.

scientific investigations report

A model for evaluating effects of climate, water availability, and water management on wetland impoundments--a case study on Bowdoin, Long Lake, and Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuges