Rocky Mountain Research Station Air, Water, & Aquatic Environments Program

The Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments (AWAE) research program is one of eight Science Program areas within the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). Our science develops core knowledge, methods, and technologies that enable effective watershed management in forests and grasslands, sustain biodiversity, and maintain healthy watershed conditions.

We conduct basic and applied research on the effects of natural processes and human activities on watershed resources, including interactions between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The knowledge we develop supports management, conservation, and restoration of terrestrial, riparian and aquatic ecosystems and provides for sustainable clean air and water quality in the Interior West.

With capabilities in atmospheric sciences, soils, forest engineering, biogeochemistry, hydrology, plant physiology, aquatic ecology and limnology, conservation biology and fisheries, our scientists focus on two key research problems:

Core watershed research quantifies the dynamics of hydrologic, geomorphic and biogeochemical processes in forests and rangelands at multiple scales and defines the biological processes and patterns that affect the distribution, resilience, and persistence of native aquatic, riparian and terrestrial species. Integrated, interdisciplinary research explores the effects of climate variability and climate change on forest, grassland and aquatic ecosystems.

• Resource Title: Projects, Tools, and Data.

  File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/projects.html

  Projects include Air Temperature Monitoring and Modeling, Biogeochemistry Lab in Colorado, Rangewide Bull Trout eDNA Project, Climate Shield Cold-Water Refuge Streams for Native Trout, Cutthroat trout-rainbow trout hybridization - data downloads and maps, Fire and Aquatic Ecosystems science, Fish and Cattle Grazing reports, Geomophic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) tool for erosion and sediment delivery to streams, GRAIP_Lite - Geomophic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) tool for erosion and sediment delivery to streams, IF3: Integrating Forests, Fish, and Fire, National forest climate change maps: Your guide to the future, National forest contributions to streamflow, The National Stream Internet network, people, data, GIS, analysis, techniques, NorWeST Stream Temperature Regional Database and Model, River Bathymetry Toolkit (RBT), Sediment Transport Data for Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, SnowEx, Stream Temperature Modeling and Monitoring, Spatial Statistical Modeling on Stream netowrks - tools and GIS downloads, Understanding Sculpin DNA - environmental DNA and morphological species differences, Understanding the diversity of Cottusin western North America, Valley Bottom Confinement GIS tools, Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP), Great Lakes WEPP Watershed Online GIS Interface, Western Division AFS - 2008 Bull Trout Symposium - Bull Trout and Climate Change, Western US Stream Flow Metric Dataset