Approach
Infrastructure located in areas prone to high soil-moisture and flooding may require repeated maintenance and other investments to maintain access and function as extreme precipitation events become more common; this is especially true for heavily trafficked systems such as roads, bridges, trails, and campsites. Structures unable to convey adequate high or low water flows often disconnect and fragment aquatic organism communities. The physical relocation of necessary infrastructure and facilities away from high-risk areas may improve the quality of habitat adjacent to water resources and forested areas. Using flexible temporary infrastructure (e.g. temporary bridges) can minimize long-term risks associated with permanent structures while still meeting near-term goals. The rerouting, or relocation of heavily accessed infrastructure away from unstable slopes or water resources to areas may reduce long-term maintenance costs and structural losses.
Tactics
- Relocate campground facilities out of floodplains and away from dynamic surface waters to reduce hazards associated to flooding, or eroding streambanks.
- Reroute trails away from waterways with the high flood risk or potential to areas with high drainage efficiency and deep-rooted vegetation.
- Use temporary bridges on-site, and remove once a job is complete.
- Prepare for and manage allowable truck weights and truck haul configurations (e.g. spring haul restriction periods and winter weight) to match seasonal changes, and plan for heavy vehicle hauls during different periods of the year.
- Relocate roads to higher elevations in a watershed where stream flow levels are lower or prevent the location of new roads in areas that are of higher risk to flooding.
- Reroute heavily trafficked and high-risk trails out of areas known to have highly erodible or unstable soils, particularly sites with past failure or issues with saturated soils.
Strategy
Strategy Text
This strategy addresses actions for adapting infrastructure in forested watersheds, such as roads, skid trails, recreation trails, road-stream crossings, bridges, culverts, dams and other facilities associated with development. Infrastructure and transportation systems designs to avoid structural losses and damages by taking into account storm events and return periods documented in regional historical records. A changing climate may necessitate critical evaluation of past design concepts and criteria to minimize risks and safety concerns over the designed lifespan of the unit. Roads, skid trails, road-stream crossings, recreation trails, facilities, and other infrastructure are known to affect local landforms and hydrology, particularly where impervious surfaces concentrate water into flow pathways, generating high-velocity runoff and erosion. Added considerations in design may be necessary to accommodate altered hydrology and reduce risks of damage, failure or total loss. These considerations may be especially important near high-risk areas and where the consequences of lost infrastructure are unacceptable.
Shannon, P.D.; Swanston, C.W.; Janowiak, M.K.; Handler, S.D.; Schmitt, K.M.; Brandt, L.A.; Butler-Leopold, P.R.; Ontl, T.A. (in review). Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Forested Watersheds. Ecological Applications.,