Progress and Outcomes of the Colorado River Native Fish Conservation Area Planning Process. An interdisciplinary team of 32 fish and wildlife conservation professionals representing conservation non-profits, universities, state and federal agencies gathered for a series of conservation planning workshops in fall 2015. Priority actions now provide the groundwork for a conservation action plan that will guide partner investments over the next 5-10 years in cooperative, watershed-scale conservation of native fishes and other aquatic resources in the Colorado River watershed. The Colorado River Conservation Action Plan is expected to be finalized by fall 2016.
Priority science needs identified within the Colorado River Native Fish Conservation Area primarily centered on the need for development of river reach-specific data and decision support tools that can be used to inform the conservation of environmental flows (through mechanisms such as inclusion of prescribed releases in water rights permits and dam operations plans or leases of existing water rights for instream uses). Another area of interest focused on the need for data and decision support tools to guide and prioritize restoration and preservation of riparian and floodplain habitats (through mechanisms such as conservation easements or other landowner incentives). Three highest-priority projects emerged during the Colorado River Native Fish Conservation Area planning process. These three projects are listed below, all three of which are now underway supported directly by TPWD.
- Examine flow-ecology relationships to inform instream flow prescriptions in the Lower Colorado River Water Management Plan to conserve Guadalupe Bass (state fish of Texas) and State-Listed Blue Sucker
- Application of the Texas Ecological Indices Project to prioritize riparian buffers for protection through landowner incentives and conservation easements supported by the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program and TPWD Landowner Incentive Program
- Examine opportunities for water leases, water rights acquisition, and voluntary incentive-based programs to achieve flow restoration targets for conservation of Guadalupe Bass in Hill Country tributaries of the Colorado River
Additional top-tier science needs identified through the Colorado River Native Fish Conservation Area planning process are listed below. We recommend that the GPLCC Science Team evaluate and consider these research topics for potential funding through the GPLCC Prairie Rivers Initiative.
- Conduct applied research that examines the effects of brush management (particularly large-scale projects supported through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board’s Water Supply Enhancement Program) on groundwater, surface water and aquatic ecosystems, and develop best management practices to guide project designs
- Develop strategies, guidelines, and restoration designs to stabilize erosional cut-banks and restore natural channel and bank/riparian conditions within the South Llano River Conservation Demonstration Area and North Llano River Greenway (supporting use of these river segments as research and teaching areas for restoring rivers of the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion)
- Characterize the effects of riparian invasive plants (e.g., giant reed, salt cedar) on fluvial processes (e.g., channel morphology, flow velocity, sediment transport) and habitat conditions for Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Pedernales, Blanco and Nueces rivers to guide habitat management efforts
- Examine linkages between riparian buffer intactness, instream habitat quality, and use by Species of Greatest Conservation Need in rivers of the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion to guide habitat management efforts
- Examine linkages between land use cover, upland vegetative communities, physical watershed processes, and status of focal species and their habitats in rivers of the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion
- Conduct an inventory and characterization of low-head dams (not included in the current national inventory of dams)
- Develop conservation strategies, guidelines and designs for low-water crossings and low-head dams that restore fluvial processes, restore fish passage, and enhance river recreation by allowing passage for paddlers
- Develop recommended guidelines and best management practices for use of culverts on creeks on private lands
- Develop conservation strategies for protection of unique and sensitive aquatic species and habitats threatened by land use changes, including recommended measures to consider in land use planning and zoning (e.g., recommended minimum width of riparian buffers, storm water management techniques/measures, use of pervious paving materials and other low impact development strategies)
- Develop strategies to address unsustainable surface and groundwater withdrawals that contribute to reduced flows and dewatering of Hill Country rivers (e.g., outreach to key stakeholders on groundwater management processes; explore opportunities to incentivize best management practices – promoting alternatives, fund data/information needs, technical guidance in development of management plans)
- Assess condition of riparian buffers along Hill Country rivers and tributaries, and prioritize areas for restoration and protection (through acquisition, conservation easements or other landowner incentives)
- Identify beneficial instream barriers (i.e., that prevent introduction/expansion of nonnative species and/or that serve as refugia for native species) and develop proactive messaging that delineates the differences between beneficial and harmful instream barriers
- Complete a landscape assessment to identify intact, native grasslands and prioritize areas for protection and identify/prioritize degraded areas with the potential for native grasslands restoration (through landowner incentives; to support ground filtration, spring recharge, water quality, and terrestrial habitat quality for terrestrial grasslands species)
- Complete a landscape assessment to identify aquifer recharge features, canyon and spring systems, and other sensitive aquatic habitats (that harbor sensitive and unique species of flora and fauna), and provide landowner incentives for restoration and protection
- Develop landowner incentives with the potential to provide water use efficiencies including replacement of outdated irrigation equipment and livestock watering facilities
- Complete an analysis of existing water rights and patterns of water use to identify available water and explore opportunities for water leases, water rights acquisition, and voluntary incentive-based programs to achieve flow restoration targets
- Establish an aquatic and riparian invasive species monitoring program on the Llano and Pedernales rivers to support adaptive management of ongoing invasive species control efforts (with a particular focus on control/eradication of elephant ear and giant reed)
- Assess native and exotic/introduced ungulate and feral hog populations, including abundance and patterns of distribution, in order to develop science-based recommendations for management actions by landowner cooperatives
- Conduct baseline assessments of population size and structure of focal species of the Hill Country Rivers NFCA and establish routine monitoring programs
- Develop and implement a monitoring program to evaluate the ecological outcomes of conservation actions implemented through the South Llano River Conservation Demonstration Area Master Plan and North Llano River Greenway Plan
- Inventory and monitor erosional, cut-banks, examine associations with land use practices, and prioritize areas for restoration
- Conduct routine monitoring of instream habitat conditions in the South Llano River through the use of side-scan sonar mapping (to provide a long-term monitoring dataset that can be used to examine linkages between land-use changes, climate change, and other variables on instream and riparian habitat conditions)
The above-listed science needs are specific to the upper portions of the Colorado River and tributaries (partially contained within the GPLCC geography). Our planning process focused on the entire Colorado River watershed. As such, additional science needs were identified for lower portions of the Colorado River watershed (contained within the geography of the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPLCC)). We intend to share those needs with the GCPLCC Steering Committee and Science Team. The Colorado River Conservation Action Plan (currently under development) will address priority science needs and conservation actions for the entire Colorado River watershed.
