Robyn Pepin and Spencer Ambauen Talk Fish Habitat Solutions at River Restoration Northwest

The 19th annual River Restoration Northwest symposium is this week in Stevenson, Washington. Representatives from Aspect’s Seattle, Wenatchee, and Portland offices are attending to cheer on presentations by two of our colleagues focused on removing fish passage barriers in the Pacific Northwest.

Senior GIS Analyst Robyn Pepin’s presentation “Data-Driven Decision Making: An Innovative Prioritization Tool for Restoration (and more!)” showcases the methodology behind the GIS-based tool she created in partnership with the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board that synthesizes and streamlines numerous data sets to prioritize what barriers are most need of removal in the Wenatchee Basin.

Spencer Ambauen is presenting his poster on the Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS). This bridge construction system is made from alternates layers of compacted structural fill soils and a mesh-like geosynthetic reinforcement that can be used in many subsurface and seismic conditions. For public agencies looking to replace hundreds of aging, undersized culverts and other structures hindering riparian habitat, GRS-IBS bridges are a less expensive option that are easier to construct and maintain. These bridges becoming more common across the east coast, but so far there have been only two constructed in Washington state. Spencer is well familiar with the GRS-IBS system; masters thesis involved numerical modeling to evaluate how these bridges behave under surcharge loading, and he completed design for an GRS-IBS bridge for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to enhance fish passage at Tolmie State Park near Olympia.

Robyn Pepin Talks Fish Passage Barrier Prioritization on GIS Podcast

Senior GIS Analyst Robyn Pepin was recently a guest on the GIS-focused podcast Will We Make it Out Alive?

In an episode titled “A Culvert Affair,” hosts Amy and Jen talked with Robyn about the Fish Passage Barrier Prioritization Tool she developed for the Upper Salmon Recovery Board to prioritize which culverts and other obstructions blocking fish passage should be removed first, and how she continues to adapt and improve it as needed for other agencies. Robyn also walks listeners the Flow Network tools she used to create the tool.

Listen to Robyn and other episodes of the podcast here.

How to Deliver More Successful GIS Outreach Campaigns at NW GIS in Bend

Conducting a successful public outreach and/or marketing campaign using GIS is more involved than just publishing a web-map. Marketing, communication, design professionals, and a wide range of other professionals are increasingly seeing the value of map-based infographics to promote marketing and communication campaigns. Aspect’s Blair Deaver recently presented at the Northwest GIS User Group on how to conduct a successful marketing campaign that involves GIS. Blair has developed successful story map campaigns and he brought his experience on those to propose marketing tips outside of simply publishing your web map such as:

  • Messaging and Audience

  • SEO/SEM considerations

  • Engagement with marketing, communication, and management colleagues

  • Increasing Virality

  • Measuring Impact

In addition to Blair’s presentation, Aspect’s GIS crew was thrilled to learn their fish passage poster presentation — visualizing Aspect’s fish passage removal GIS tool — won the award for “Best Analysis.”

From left, Parker Wittman, Robyn Pepin, Emelie Crumbaker, and Blair Deaver

Learn more about the conference here.

New GIS Tool Helps Remove Barriers to Salmon Habitat Connectivity

Clean, cold water. Lush riparian vegetation. Gravels for spawning. These are some of the elements that create healthy habitat for salmon. The Upper Columbia region has some of the best in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, not all of this habitat is within the salmon’s reach. Removing barriers such as culverts and dams is a top priority for salmon recovery goals, but there are thousands of barriers, limited resources to remove them, and a diverse group of stakeholders with issues to address. What everyone wants to know first is: how do we decide WHICH barriers to remove?

Instream barriers such as culverts like this can limit fish passage to available habitat.

Enter a New Tool for Fish Habitat Decision Making

In partnership with the Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board, the Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team (RTT), and a technical steering committee, Aspect created a GIS-based decision support tool that summarizes the overall quality of ecological conditions surrounding each instream barrier within the Wenatchee Basin. This custom spatial model provides insight into critical questions regarding barrier-removal priority:

  • Is there habitat available upstream from the barrier that salmon currently cannot access?

  • Is that available habitat of sufficient quality for salmon?

  • Is there known fish usage near the barrier already?

  • Are there barriers downstream blocking fish access?

This prioritization tool provides salmon-recovery stakeholders with a common approach to answer these questions. The variables under consideration at a barrier—upstream habitat quality, local stream temperature, connectivity to other barriers, etc.—each receive a score. Those scores are then added up to a total priority tier ranking for that barrier. By assessing each barrier through this scoring process, we’ve created an actionable apples-to-apples comparison of habitat benefits associated with barrier removal.

A preview of barrier removal ranking priority data.

A Tier 1 ranking indicates the top priority for removal, indicating more biological benefit gained from a barrier’s removal. Tier 4 ranking is the lowest priority ranking, indicating little biological benefit gained from a barrier’s removal. UCSRB and the RTT use these categories to guide decisions on proposed project funding. The rankings are updated as available data sources improve.  Preview the results HERE. This tool will allow stakeholders to align and coordinate their barrier removal work towards the larger common goal of salmon-habitat connectivity within the Upper Columbia and throughout the state.

If interested in adapting this tool for your project and/or basin(s), contact Robyn Pepin for more information.

ETA (6/3/2019): Robyn Pepin and Taylor Rulien’s poster for this GIS tool won best analytical data presentation at 2019’s WAURISA Conference. Check it out here.

Talking Field Data Collection at 2019 OCEAN Connect Conference on April 11

Over the past decade or two, technological advancements have presented opportunities to streamline field data collection. However, migrating field staff to a paperless workflow requires more than choosing the right software and hardware.

On April 11, Aspect’s John Warinner and Robyn Pepin will cover this topic and give tips on how to effectively convert field data collection from paper to digital process at the 2018 Oregon Conservation Education and Assistance Network (OCEAN) Connect Conference in Sunriver, Oregon.

Key areas of the presentation will include:

  • Overview of commercial off-the-shelf software and reporting systems

  • Case studies and lessons learned by Aspect’s field and data teams

  • Successful talking points to convince decision makers

See good field techniques and analysis put into practice, with some mountain biking thrown in for good measure here:

It's IPAD Mini vs. Trimble GPS in a mapmaking showdown on the sunny trails of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust in the Wenatchee Valley.

And read more about our experience with how one suite of field data technology has improved our workflow.