Snowpack is something we – and our salmonids – care deeply about. Good snowpack results in good streamflow and cool water throughout the year. And our snowpack is affected by the condition of our forests. But wouldn’t it be handy to predict streamflow results of forest management? Spoiler alert—we can and maybe you’ve heard of it!
Over the last several years, the UCSRB worked with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and EcoTrust to develop a modeling tool called Snow2Flow, which predicts streamflow based on canopy coverage. This online decision-support tool can be used by forest restoration and salmon recovery practitioners across North Central Washington. Snow2Flow simulates the approximate change in streamflow with realistic forest treatments. These treatments were developed in collaboration with Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest managers.
Our hope is Snow2Flow will increase the understanding of the complex relationship between our ridgetops and our rivers.
Don’t miss this great episode as we chat with Ryan Niemeyer, Watershed Program Manager for the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board, to learn more about the tool!
