Monitoring Kentucky Wetland and Stream Restoration Projects: Past, Present and Future
Bethany Mulhall
Mitchell Boles
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program
Frankfort, KY
Authors: Bethany Mulhall, Jessica East, and Mitchell Boles
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) sponsors the Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program. The program, established in 2002 under Kentucky statute, has approximately 85 approved projects and 45 of those in monitoring or long-term management. Project monitoring and maintenance has evolved since program inception. In summary, monitoring duration, intensity, and performance metric standards have become increasingly stringent. Although this is a positive direction for mitigation, it is important for practitioners to keep project goals and objectives in mind while implementing monitoring methods.
Typical monitoring parameters include geomorphological, hydrological, vegetation, and habitat data tied to performance standard metrics. These metrics are intended to inform the practitioner of current project success and potential adaptive management plans for future projects, however this has proved challenging at times. The KDFWR has made programmatic changes to aid in improving monitoring approaches and results including a team of staff dedicated exclusively to monitoring and maintenance, engaging third-party monitoring firms after construction, and contracts with universities.
Other advancements include increased biological sampling on stream restoration projects commencing in 2016. Initial sample techniques are similar to those used to evaluate overall fish assemblage and calculate IBI values. This data, while useful, proved too coarse and led to discussion on sample method refinement to better answer questions about biological response to stream restoration. My colleague will further present on these preliminary methods and findings in a separate talk.
Monitoring data collected since program inception provides topic points on collecting feasible baseline data, meaningful, function-based and site-specific monitoring data, and lastly the use of monitoring as a powerful tool to inform us of current and future project success.
About Bethany Mulhall
Mrs. Bethany Mulhall has been with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program for 11 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Bellarmine University (Louisville, KY) and a Master of Science in Biology/Applied Ecology from Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, KY).
Bethany’s experience has ranged from monitoring fish passage using GIS mapping, mark-recapture, and PIT tagging techniques in remote streams of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Southeastern Kentucky to project manager of mitigation projects for the Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program. She has a wealth of experience in aquatic and terrestrial biological surveys, permitting, compliance reporting, contract management, easement monitoring, and enforcement, and long-term management of mitigation projects. She has been integrally involved in all aspects of stream and wetland mitigation, having worked on programmatic agreements, conceptual design plans for numerous projects, and troubleshooting corrective actions on completed mitigation projects. In her current position, she serves as monitoring and maintenance coordinator for the program, where she oversees 40+ stream and wetland mitigation projects statewide. She is currently working on modified sampling methods of biological responses to restoration, which will be used to make improvements to implementation, management, and monitoring of revegetation efforts at restoration sites.
Bethany enjoys her time spent in streams and wetlands across the beautiful state of Kentucky with her co-workers. In her free time, she enjoys time with her family, rock hounding, stream wading, fishing, and kayaking.
About Mitchell Boles
Mitchell Boles is currently serving as an Environmental Scientist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ (KDFWR) Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program where he started his career 5 years ago. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky in Natural Resources Environmental Sciences. He has experience in aquatic and terrestrial biological surveys, construction, invasive vegetation removal and native vegetation establishment, contract management, easement monitoring and enforcement, and long-term management of mitigation projects. His primary responsibilities include ensuring program compliance with 40+ restoration sites and assisting with the development of more effective monitoring methods. Mitchell enjoys spending his spare time outdoors, fly fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, traveling, and walking his dog.