Rob Van Kirk Dept. of Mathematics Humboldt State University
Irrigated Eden and the Charmed Goose: A Thematic History of Water
and Fisheries Management in the upper Snake River Basin
Slide 2
Fisheries management Water management Eastern Snake Plain
Aquifer Nonnative species Hydrologic regime Natural Resource
Management Paradigm
Slide 3
Approach Theme: dominant societal view of natural resources
Simplify and idealize to elucidate unintended consequences
Emphasize story rather than details A new twist on Goose that Laid
the Golden Egg problem Recommendations to avoid further
consequences in the face of: 1.Loss of native species
2.Suburban/exurban development on irrigated lands
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Upper Snake River Basin Henrys Fork Watershed Teton Valley
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Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) Boggs et al., In Press, J.
American Water Resources Assoc.
Slide 6
ESPA Annual Water Budget: Mean 1958-2007 Based on Johnson et
al. 1999, J. American Water Resources Assoc.
Slide 7
Surface Water System Drainage area: 35,800 mi 2 (93,130 km 2 )
Irrigated area: 2.4 M acres (9750 km 2 ) 9 major storage
reservoirs; capacity 4 M a-f (5 x 10 9 m 3 )
Slide 8
Basin Annual Water Budget: Mean 1958-2007 Estimates based on
USGS, USBR, and IDWR data
Slide 9
1865 1910: (Euro-American) Settlement 1865: Earliest water
right claimed 1910: Bureau of Reclamation begins reconstructing
Jackson Dam Natural Resource Paradigm: Develop and use Water
ManagementFisheries Management Conditions Unallocated water
Available land (Semi-)Arid climate Abundant native trout Actions
Divert water Build canals Claim water rights Commercial harvest
Promote recreational angling opportunities Consequences Reduced
streamflow Aquatic habitat decline Decline in native trout
populations
Slide 10
1910 WWII: Reclamation Phase I WWII: Reclamation projects
deferred until after War ends Natural Resource Paradigm:
Conservation sensu T. Roosevelt Water ManagementFisheries
Management Conditions [All natural flow allocated] [Declining
native trout] Actions Reclamation Act Build storage reservoirs
Govt. helps reclaim Eden from the desert* End commercial harvest
Build hatcheries Stock nonnative trout Consequences Increased
diversion, aquifer recharge/outflow Flow regime shifts from runoff
to GW-dominated Increase in catchable fish numbers Further decline
in native trout populations [Brackets indicate consequence of
previous management actions] *Fiege, M. 1999. Irrigated Eden.
University of Washington Press, Seattle.
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WWII 1976: Reclamation Phase II 1976: Last big USBR
ProjectTeton Dam fails on June 5 Natural Resource Paradigm:
Increased use of science/technology Water ManagementFisheries
Management Conditions [Available groundwater] Cheap electricity
High-lift pumps [New reservoir and spring habitats favor nonnative
species] More anglers Actions Finish dams Pump GW, expand irrig.
Aquaculture claims 1000 Springs flow Respond to increasing angler
demands Stock even more nonnative fish Consequences GW levels and
aquifer discharge decline Stocking masks large- scale habitat
degradation/alteration
Slide 12
1976 1993: Conservation Natural Resource Paradigm: Modern
Conservation/Env. Protection with heavy federal influence Water
ManagementFisheries Management Conditions [Water use > supply]
[Decreased GW levels] Periods of drought [All habitat degraded]
[Nonnatives decline] Decreased $ for stocking Actions Increase
efficiency No more GW pumping except single-home use Wild Trout
management Habitat restoration Minimum flow concept Consequences
Further decline in GW Conflict between GW and SW users Conflict w/
env. groups New constituency for wild trout experience Conflict
between anglers Conflict with water users 1993: Henrys Fork
Watershed Council formed
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1993-2008: Re-Settlement 1993: Dot.com economic boom starts
2008: Economic recession Subdivisions platted in agricultural
regions of Henrys Fork Watershed
Slide 14
1993-2008: Re-Settlement Natural Resource Paradigm:
Collaboration and local control Water ManagementFisheries
Management Conditions [Continued conflict] [More GW decline]
[Nonnatives recover] [Natives face extinction] Increased value of
fishing/river recreation Actions Conjunctive mgmt. Farmers sell
land for re-settlement NGOs gain influence Members are re- settlers
Flow/habitat restoration to prevent ESA listings Consequences
Killing the goose that laid the golden egg??? Conflict: wild trout
versus native trout
Slide 15
Killing the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg: Development vs.
Natural Environment Preston, C.R. 2005. Saving the charmed goose:
reconciling human demands with inherent limitations in the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem. Yellowstone Science 13(4):5-14.
Slide 16
Irrigated Eden Today
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A New Twist on Killing the Goose: Development vs. Irrigated
Eden Will replacement of irrigated agriculture with suburbia
destroy the resources that the re-settlers value (and need)?
Abundant ground-water (recall the single-home exemption!) Lush,
verdant, open landscape with lots of water Wetlands, fish, wildlife
and other ecosystem services
Slide 18
Subdivisions on lands served by the Henrys Fork/Teton canal
system
Slide 19
Measurements of loss in irrigation canals and calculated budget
for a single canal company.
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Some conclusions Thematic history reveals parallels between
water and fisheries mgmt. Loss of native trout due as much to
fisheries management as agriculture Increases in irrigation
efficiency have reduced GW-associated resources Canal system
remains as largest source of aquifer recharge Ecosystem services
provided by irrigation-dependent ground water and wetlands are
poorly understood and not acknowledged or appreciated
Irrigation-dependent systems are not native, but they provide
valued resources Loss of irrigated land to development could reduce
these resources
Slide 21
Some Recommendations Inventory and understand ecological
systems associated with irrigation Expend native species
restoration resources only where they are likely to succeed
(ironically, below big federal dams where flow regime can be
shaped) Acknowledge value of and protect nonnative ecosystems
everywhere else Build developments around canal system; keep canals
viable! Continue to irrigate in developments: use same surface
water for landscaping Restrict ground water to culinary use Keep
water rights with canal companies, which issue shares to new
owners
Slide 22
Friends of the Teton River Greater Yellowstone Coalition Henrys
Fork Foundation National Science Foundation The Nature Conservancy
Trout Unlimited U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation Major Funders
Slide 23
Selected References Battle, L., R. Van Kirk, W. Schrader. In
press. Effectiveness of flow management and rainbow trout harvest
on long-term viability of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the
South Fork Snake River. Wild Trout X Symp. Boggs, K., R. Van Kirk,
G. Johnson, J. Fairley, P. Porter. In press. Analytical solutions
to the linearized Boussinesq equation for assessing the effects of
recharge on aquifer discharge. J. Amer. Water Resources Assoc.
Fausch, K., Y. Taniguchi, S. Nakano, G.D. Grossman, and C.R.
Townsend. 2001. Flood disturbance regimes influence rainbow trout
invasion success among five holarctic regions. Ecol. Appl.
11:1438-1455. Fiege, M. 1999. Irrigated Eden. Univ. of Washington
Press, Seattle. Fredericks, J., B. Schrader, and R. Van Kirk. 2004.
A collaborative, multi-faceted approach to Yellowstone cutthroat
trout conservation in the South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho.
Proceedings of the Wild Trout VIII Symp.:158-166. Johnson, G., W.
Sullivan, D. Cosgrove, and R. Schmidt. 1999. Recharge of the Snake
River Plain Aquifer: Transitioning from incidental to managed. J.
Amer. Water Resources Assoc. 35:123-131. Koenig, M. 2006. Habitat
and biotic factors influencing distribution and recruitment of
juvenile cutthroat trout in the Teton River, Idaho. MS Thesis, Utah
State Univ. Loomis, J. 2006. Use of survey data to estimate
economic value and regional economic effects of fishery
improvements, N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 26:301307. Mitro, M., A.
Zale, B. Rich. 2003. The relation between age-0 rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) abundance and winter discharge in a regulated
river. Can. J. Fish. Aq. Sci. 60:135-139. Peck, D., and J. Lovvorn.
2001. The importance of flood irrigation in water supply to
wetlands in the Laramie Basin, Wyoming, USA. Wetlands 21:370-378.
Preston, C. Saving the charmed goose: reconciling human demands
with inherent limitations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Yellowstone Sci. 13(4):5-14. Van Kirk, R., L. Battle, W. Schrader.
2010. Modelling competition and hybridization between native
cutthroat trout and nonnative rainbow and hybrid trout. J. Biol.
Dynamics 4:158-175. Van Kirk, R. W. and L. Benjamin. 2001. Status
and conservation of salmonids in relation to hydrologic integrity
in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Western N. Am. Nat.
61:359-374. Van Kirk, R., and M. Gamblin. 2000. History of
fisheries management in the upper Henrys Fork watershed.
Intermountain J. Sci. 6:263-284. Van Kirk, R., and C. Griffin.
1997. Building a collaborative process for restoration: Henrys Fork
of Idaho and Wyoming. Pp. 253-276 in J. E. Williams et al.,
editors. Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices. Am. Fish.
Soc.