Washington Watershed Resilience – Actions for Watersheds

Climate Adaptation Actions

A climate adaptation planning exercise conduced by EcoAdapt, American Rivers, Sierra Club, and National Center for Conservation Science and Policy generated the following list of climate change effects and possible actions to increase resilience to climate change based on regional risks (e.g. Stillaguamish River watershed, Washington).

Transition to rain by 2020

• Snow fences
• Beaver protection and reintroduction
• Tyvek snow covers

Decreasing run-off

• Forest management (e.g. trees in riparian zones) Micro-dams
• Snow fences
• Beaver protection/reintroduction
• Groundwater recharge (trees, beavers)
• Artificially recharge aquifers by purchasing water rights
• Fund or mandate water conservation
• Manage dams for in-stream flow through the dry season
• Reduce impermeable surfaces
• Natural floodplain/wetland restoration
• Reduce channelization

Increasing temperature of stream water

• Reduce erosion/sedimentation from poor forest practices, roads decommissioning, and/or agriculture
• Support riparian vegetation
• Maintain flow rates (see items in run-off section above)
• Artificially increase flow rates
• Limit streamside development
• Protect stream shade over spawning sites
• Remove or create dams
• Side channel restoration/gravel augmentation
• Prioritize protection of cold water refugia (ground and spring fed)

Winter flooding increases

• Beaver protection/reintroduction
• Natural floodplain/wetland restoration
• Road decommissioning
• Restoration/removal of culverts
• Upslope vegetation to control run-off
• Reduce channelization
• Reduce impermeable surfaces
• Artificial wetlands/dams/retention ponds
• Expedited groundwater recharge/underground reservoirs