inSTREAM

Example Applications

1. Little Jones Creek Cutthroat Trout studies

Version 2 and 2.2 of inSTREAM were initially built for U.S. Forest Service research at sites on Little Jones Creek, Smith River basin, Del Norte County, northwest California. The principal investigator on this project is Dr. Bret Harvey, of the U.S. Forest Service's Redwood Sciences Laboratory. More information is here.

The study site has been used for previous studies of trout movement and habitat selection. Three modeling sites were established in 1999: two on the mainstem of Little Jones Creek and one on a small tributary between the mainstem sites. Redwood Sciences Laboratory scientists continue to monitor trout populations and conduct controlled experiments to test and improve components of the model.

2. Green River Trout Studies

Collecting habitat input for inSTREAM V. 3 in the Flaming Gorge Dam tailwater. Photo by John Hayse, Argonne National Laboratory

Velocity field at the Jacoby Creek site, as simulated by a two-dimensional (vertically averaged) hydrodynamic model

Version 3 of inSTREAM was designed for management applications on the Green River, below Flaming Gorge Dam, in northeastern Utah. This site has one of the most productive and economically important recreational trout fisheries in the country. Management issues include:

• Flow fluctuations: Do within-day flow fluctuations have adverse effects on trout growth and over-winter survival? If so, how can flows be managed to provide good tradeoffs between power production and the fishery?
• Temperature increases for native fish restoration: Water temperatures are ideal for trout growth, but endangered native fish further downstream are adapted to warmer water. If the reservoir is managed to increase tailwater temperatures by several degrees, will there be adverse effects on the trout fishery?
• Instream flows: How do alternative instream flow regimes (e.g., monthly flows) affect trout production?

inSTREAM has been applied to four studies in the Flaming Gorge tailwater, in a project funded by EPRI and Western Area Power Administration and conducted in collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory.

3. Jacoby Creek Research Site

A study site on Jacoby Creek near Arcata, California is being used for field studies that test some of inSTREAM's assumptions about how habitat affects fish. This project is led by Bret Harvey of Redwood Sciences Laboratory. In particular, we are looking at the effects of hiding cover and food competition on survival and growth in the mid-summer low-flow season.

Students from Humboldt State's Department of Environmental Resources Engineering have used the Jacoby Creek site to explore use of two-dimensional hydrodynamic models for inSTREAM's hydraulic simulations. This work was directed by Dr. Eileen Cashman, who teaches river hydraulics.

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