Turbidity changes during culvert to bridge upgrades at Carmen Creek, Idaho

Foltz, Randy B.; Westfall, Breann; Kopyscianski, Ben. 2013. Turbidity changes during culvert to bridge upgrades at Carmen Creek, Idaho. Res. Note RMRS-RN-54. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 12 p.

Keywords: culverts, sediment, aquatic species passage

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Abstract: Forest Service, BLM, and state forest roads provide access for timber harvest and recreational use. Culverts used on these roads were historically designed to convey water under the road with little attention given to passage of aquatic organisms. In the past decade or so, driven largely by the Endangered Species Act listing of various salmonids in the Pacific Northwest, managers have designed and installed culverts to accommodate passage of aquatic species. Many existing culverts designed under the old criteria are impediments to passage and are replaced with culverts or bridges designed to accommodate aquatic species passage. Managers weigh the short-term negative impacts of sediment in the stream during culvert replacement against the positive long-term impacts of improved passage when considering which culverts to replace.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2013j