THE HIGH-DEFINITION STREAM SURVEY: A FAST, AFFORDABLE, AND FLEXIBLE METHOD TO DOCUMENT STREAM CORRIDOR CONDITIONS AND SUPPORT MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
James Parham, PhD
Hydrologist and Aquatic Biologist
Trutta Environmental Solutions, LLC
Nashville, TN
Authors: Brett Connell, James E. Parham and Dane A. Shuman, Trutta Environmental Solutions, LLC
The High-Definition Stream Survey (HDSS) system was designed to rapidly collect a broad suite of georeferenced instream and stream corridor data over miles of rivers or streams in a single day. Fundamental to the effective management of streams and rivers is understanding the distribution and quality of conditions throughout the system. Unfortunately, previous experience with traditional sampling techniques has demonstrated that collecting high-quality data in and along the stream corridor is expensive, time-consuming, and rarely at a scale appropriate to address the multitude of concerns within a river or stream system. The individualized, unique, and diverse assessments required for stream restoration, habitat suitability modeling, or mitigation assessment are poorly captured by any single, general survey protocol. This requires additional surveys as management goals or issues change. HDSS was created to overcome many of these problems. The broad suite of HDSS instream and channel condition field data can be classified using flexible, user-driven methods that allow the field data to be appropriately applied to different objectives or management goals. The classified data then flows easily into powerful suitability models that support informative maps, graphics, and statistics. The results are easily used and understood making them ideal for strategic planning and decision support tools. Additionally, archived field data is easily reviewable for additional analysis to support other stream-related activities such as permitting, compliance, watershed planning, impact and habitat assessments, and predictive modeling, giving you an excellent way to increase collaboration, decrease costs, and improve conservation outcomes. We will discuss the results from numerous rivers and streams located in the eastern United States to show how the HDSS approach can be applied to a wide range of aquatic management issues.
About James Parham, PhD
Dr. Parham was Senior Consultant with Parham and Associates Environmental Consulting, which merged with Trutta Consulting in 2017. Dr. Parham is a Certified Fisheries Professional and marine biologist with 30 years of experience in the water management profession. Dr. Parham specializes in applying the latest technology to design and deliver solutions to difficult resource management issues, including instream flow, hydropower, habitat availability, and fish passage studies. He is an expert in Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling that integrates components of hydrology, geomorphology, and fish ecology to enable improved use of freshwaters. He serves as a research hydrologist and aquatic biologist with Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI, and as an associate research fellow at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Parham is a past President of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. He received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, an M.S. from the University of Guam, and a B.S. from Virginia Tech.