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Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study in the Owens River Gorge, California
Author(s) -
Hill Mark T.,
Platts William S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
fisheries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1548-8446
pISSN - 0363-2415
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8446(1998)023<0018:er>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - riparian zone , dam removal , habitat , environmental science , ecosystem , landform , hydrology (agriculture) , river ecosystem , restoration ecology , stream restoration , wildlife , stocking , fishery , trout , channel (broadcasting) , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , forestry , geology , sediment , medicine , cartography , geotechnical engineering , electrical engineering , engineering , pathology , biology , paleontology
In 1991 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, in cooperation with Mono County, California, initiated a multiyear effort to restore the Owens River Gorge. The project aims to return the river channel, dewatered for more than 50 years, to a functional riverine‐riparian ecosystem capable of supporting healthy brown trout and wildlife populations. The passive, or natural , restoration approach focused on the development of riparian habitat and channel complexity using incremental increases in pulse (freshet) and base flows. Increasing pulse and base flows resulted in establishment and rapid growth of riparian vegetation on all landforms, and the formation of good‐quality micro‐habitat features (pools, runs, depth, and wetted width). An extremely complex, productive habitat now occupies the bottom lands of the Owens River Gorge. A healthy fishery in good condition has quickly developed in response to habitat improvement. Brown trout numbers have increased each year since initial stocking, 40% between 1996 and 1997. Catch rates increased from 0 fish/hr in 1991 to 5.8–7.1 fish/hr (with a maximum catch rate of 15.7 fish/hr) in 1996. Restoring the Owens River Gorge bridges the theoretical concepts developed by Kauffman et al. (1997) and the practical application of those concepts in a real‐time restoration project.