Researchers identify obstacles to documenting changes from stream restoration projects.
More public and private resources than ever are being directed to protecting and preserving aquatic ecosystems and watersheds. Whether mandated for land development, farming or in response to the growing severity and number of natural disasters – scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University found evidence that decades of watershed restoration and mitigation projects have taken place, but their impact is mostly perceived; data is relatively undocumented — or simply missing.
In their report, entitled “Large-scale protection and restoration programs aimed at protecting stream ecosystem integrity: the role of science-based goal-setting, monitoring, and data management,” which was published recently online in Freshwater Science, Academy researchers and the Stroud Water Research Center attribute the dearth of data to a need for greater investment in planning, goal-setting, monitoring and documenting stages of mitigation programs throughout the watersheds.
Stefanie A. Kroll, PhD, an assistant research professor in Drexel’s department of Biodiversity, Earth & Environmental Science and one of the authors of the report encountered these challenges first hand while working on The Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI).
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