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September 30, 2005
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Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA
WATER NEWS will come your way via email every month with fresh news
about meetings and water topics that we hope is of interest to you. If you
do not want to receive this newsletter, please scroll down and follow the directions
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or view the newsletter
online in the newsletter archives. |
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| Controlling
Erosion After Wildfires |
The Moose Fire
landscape in 2002. |
University of Montana researchers Scott Woods and Tom DeLuca have been studying
the effectiveness of post-fire erosion control techniques. It’s no surprise that
soil erosion rates in undisturbed forested watersheds are typically very low.
But erosion increases substantially after forest fires due to the loss of the
protective duff layer, causing all sorts of other problems like loss of soil
productivity and increased sedimentation in streams. Since the costs of implementing
post-fire erosion control projects are extremely high, it's imperative that selected
treatments are effective.
Woods and DeLuca
set out to evaluate the effectiveness of two commonly used hillslope post-fire
erosion control treatments -- aerial seeding and straw mulching. Their results
indicate that seeding and mulch both reduce total runoff, peak runoff and erosion
from burned areas. However, it turns out that mulching is more than three times
more effective in reducing erosion than seeding. Mulching may therefore be a
more desirable treatment than seeding in situations where both treatments are
being considered. Research will continue to determine the longer-term effectiveness
of these treatments and their effect on natural revegetation rates. |
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USGS
Water Research Funding Opportunities Announced |
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The Montana Water
Center's Water Research Advisory Council convened on September 27, 2005 in Helena
to review statewide water research priorities. The Council approved the release
of two Requests for Proposals from the Montana Water Center, both made possible
through annual funding to state Water Research Institutes from the U.S. Geological
Survey's section 104b water research program. Montana's USGS Section 104b research
funds enable university researchers and students to investigate pressing water
problems in Montana like surface water/groundwater interactions, post-fire soil
erosion, and water degradation.
The majority of
the program's funding is allocated to Seed Research Grants awarded on a competitive
basis to faculty/staff researchers at Montana's institutions of higher education.
Student involvement and multi-disciplinary innovative investigations are strongly
encouraged. Grants range up to $20,000 and matching funds are required. Click
here to view the request for pre-proposals
This program also
supports research conducted by promising student researchers engaged in water-resource
investigations at Montana universities. The Montana Water Center Student Research
Fellowship Program offers awards between $1,000 and $5,000 per student. Click
here for more information. |
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Wilbert
"Trey" Kucherka Manages the Trout Lab |
Trey Kucherka
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Trey Kucherka is
the new Wild Trout Research Laboratory Manager at the Montana Water Center. Hailing
from Texas, Kucherka was born and raised in Eagle Lake, 50 miles from Houston.
He holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi,
as well as a master’s in mariculture. Prior to heading north, Trey worked at
the University of Texas Marine Science Institute Fisheries and Mariculture Lab.
His wealth of experience as a manager and researcher will be a great asset at
the Wild Trout Research Lab. He says he is eager to shift his focus from warmwater
marine fisheries to coldwater fish in freshwater habitats. His first project
involves reconfiguration of the lab, planned for 2006. |
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Stockwater
Wells Sought |
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Jesse Aber, Montana
Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, is looking for a watershed
where stockwater wells could be used as part of a conjunctive use plan (water
management involving both surface and groundwater), in lieu of diverting streamflow,
especially in mid- to late summer when low flows and high water temperatures
pose a threat to fisheries. The Bureau of Reclamation has funding
for such a well-drilling project, where water users could agree to divert less
if stockwater wells were provided at NO expense. The wells could be drilled this
fall to be in place for 2006 and beyond. Please email [jaber@mt.gov]
or call Jess Aber at 444-6628 if you have questions about, or are interested
in, this project. |
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Final
Call for the Western Wetland Conference |
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The Western
Wetland Conference is open to all who value wetlands. The conference will be
held October 24-26 at the Denver Marriott West in Denver, Colorado, and offers
an opportunity to learn about models for success and network with people interested
in wetlands throughout the 17-state western region. To learn more about the meeting
or register, visit http://www.mtwatercourse.org/wwc/index.htm. |
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AWRA
Meeting Set for October 27, 28 |
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“Surface Water/Ground
Water: One Resource” is the theme for the Annual American Water Resources
Association meeting planned for October 27 and 28 in Bozeman. Register to hear special guest
speakers Robert Glennon, Jack Ward Thomas, and William Woessner at http://awra.org/state/montana/events/conference.htm. |
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New
National Academies of Science Web Site |
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The U.S.
National Academies is pleased to announce the launch of its Water
Information Center,
a portal of more than 100 peer-reviewed reports from the National Academies on
water-related issues. The web site [http://water.nationalacademies.org]
aims to assist the work of water scientists, engineers, managers, policy-makers,
and students throughout the world. These reports represent independent and objective
consensus among experts from academia, industry, and other entities.
The U.S.
National Academies of Sciences is a non-profit organization that brings together
committees of experts in all areas of scientific and technological endeavor.
These experts serve pro bono to address critical national issues and give advice
to the federal government and the public. The organization is composed of the
National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute
of Medicine, and the National Research Council.
If you have questions
or comments, contact:
Ellen de Guzman
Email: water@nas.edu
Phone: 202-334-3422
Water Science and Technology Board
The National Academies
500 5th Street NW
Washington,
DC 20001
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Handbook
to Help Accelerate Watershed-Protection Programs |
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Questions
about managing pollution runoff, increasing wildlife habitat and controlling
invasive species in the nation's estuaries are among those addressed in a new
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) handbook released at the White House Conference
on Cooperative Conservation in St. Louis.
"Community-Based
Watershed Management: Lessons from the National Estuary Program" is an update
to "Saving Bays and Estuaries," published in 1989. While the new handbook
focuses on estuaries, its principles and examples are relevant to any organization
involved in watershed management. The 98-page handbook describes innovative approaches
developed and conducted by the 28 National Estuary Programs, which are community-based
watershed-management organizations that restore and protect coastal watersheds.
Topics covered range from starting a program and identifying problems and solutions
to plan development and action steps. "Community-Based Watershed Management"
is on EPA's web site and can be downloaded at http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/nepprimer. |
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So
many meetings, so little time. Take special note of upcoming national and local
water meetings on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
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 Project
WET Great Falls, Great Falls, October 1, 2005 [INFO] |
72nd
Annual Water School, Bozeman, October 3 - 6, 2005 [INFO] |
Mississippi
River Basin Nutrients Science Workshop, St. Louis, MO, October 4 - 6, 2005 [INFO] |
MWCC
Quarterly Meeting, Bozeman, October 5 - 6, 2005 [INFO] |
"Call
for Papers" - National Water Research Symposium - Balancing Water Law and
Science, Blacksburg, VA, October 10 - 12, 2005 [INFO] |
5th
Annual Montana Water Law Conference, Helena, October 13 - 14, 2005 [INFO] |
3rd
Annual Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference, Bozeman, October 14 - 16,
2005 [INFO] |
"Call
for Papers" and Invitation to Attend: Identifying "Waters of the U.S." After
SWANCC, Albuquerque, NM, October
18 - 19, 2005 [INFO] |
3rd
International Conference on Safe Water 2005: Water for Life -- Water for all
People, San Diego, CA, October 20 - 21, 2005 [INFO] |
Western
Wetlands Conference, Denver, CO, October 24 - 26, 2005 [INFO] |
ASDSO
Advanced Technical Seminar on Dam Failure Analysis, Salt Lake City, UT, October
25 - 28, 2005 [INFO] |
22nd
Annual Meeting of the Montana Chapter of the American Water Resources Association,
Bozeman, October 27 - 28, 2005 [INFO] |
1st
International Conference for China Urban Water, Beijing, China, October 30 -
November 1, 2005 [INFO] |
2005
Annual AWRA Conference Preliminary Program, Seattle, WA, November 7 - 10, 2005 [INFO] |
NWRA
Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI, November 9 - 11, 2005 [INFO] |
"Call
for Papers" & Workshop -- Climate Science in Support of Decisionmaking,
Arlington, VA, November 14 - 16, 2005 [INFO] |
"Call
for Papers" & Training Workshop - Integrated Restoration of Riverine
Wetlands, Streams ..., Amherst,
MA, November 15 - 16, 2005 [INFO] |
Water
2005 Exposition, New Delhi, India, November 22 - 25, 2005 [INFO] |
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