Geomorphic Condition of streams in the Middle Fork John Day Watershed, eastern Oregon, USA

The MFJDW was the focus of a complete geomorphic assessment using the River Styles framework®. The River Styles framework employs a hierarchical scheme of river assessment that is “nested” on the scale of regional, watershed, river reach, geomorphic unit, and habitat or hydraulic unit features. This approach also encompasses the ecological setting at every scale of analysis. The River Styles framework includes four stages that build one upon the next, and and culminate in what can be used as a template for a strategic river management plan. 
 
We present three datasets representing Stages 1-3 of the River Styles framework as watershed-scale maps in the context of of the NHD (version 1, cartographic) streamline network. 
 
The second of three datasets shows geomorphic condition corresponding to River Styles throughout the Middle Fork John Day Watershed defined for ephemeral, intermittent and perennial streams. Geomorphic condition is a measure of deviation from the “natural or expected state” of any given stream reach. The natural or healthy state refers to the ability of a river to function as expected given its particular valley setting. The geomorphic condition further records the effects of limiting factors and pressures imposed by human land use. It is a key ingredient for determining reach recovery potential (river styles Stage Three), and eventually, the formation of strategic management plans.  Geomorphic condition is also the measure of a river’s capacity for adjustment, the potential to modify its channel shape, instream geomorphic units, and floodplain. Separate reaches of the same river style may display physical differences that are understood by comparing each one to a “reference reach”, the most suitable (and often, the most pristine) example found in the watershed.

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