Cimarron Research & Extension Symposium Summary

Transcription

1 ! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster! Cimarron Research & Extension Symposium Summary On November 17, 2016, 33 individuals came together in Stillwater, Oklahoma, representing state and federal agencies/organizations and universities to discuss the ongoing research and extension/outreach efforts in the Cimarron River Watershed, as well as to establish the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in conservation and research efforts in the area. This document provides an in-depth summary of the topics covered during the morning presentations and the prioritized list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in graph format as defined by the symposium attendees during the round-table discussion. Presentation: Overview of the OK NSF EPSCoR Project in the Cimarron River Watershed Dr. Gehendra Kharel began our presentations with an overview of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Oklahoma is one of 25 states eligible for EPSCoR funds to help build research infrastructure in the state. Our current EPSCoR Award (June 2013 to May 2018) is titled Adapting Socio-ecological Systems to Increased Climate Variability. The project is threefold: (1) establish a first-of-its-kind, statewide, socio-ecological observatory network, (2) develop a fully integrated modeling and prediction system, and (3) pilot a decisionsupport system for researchers, educators, and practitioners. More about the current OK EPSCoR project can be found here: Presentation: U.S. Geological Survey Activities within the Cimarron River Basin Dr. William Andrews provided an overview of the stream monitoring efforts being done by the U.S. Geological Survey. There are 10 streamflow-gaging stations along the Cimarron River. Of note are the Kenton gage with 66 years of record, the Waynoka gage with 79 years of record, the Guthrie gage with 72 years of record, and the Ripley gage with 29 years of record. A new stream gage has recently been placed near Yale, OK and was funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Data from these gages can be obtained by visiting the Oklahoma USGS website ( or the national USGS WaterWatch website ( For those interested in getting real-time alerts of when a river surpasses a user-defined threshold, visit The USGS is currently working on a project with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Pawnee Nation to construct an annual water budget for the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer between Ripley, OK and Yale, OK. Presentation: OWRB Hydrologic Investigation of the Cimarron Terrace Aquifer Ms. Jessica Correl presented about the work being done in the Cimarron Terrace Aquifer by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. They have recently been performing a hydrologic investigation of the aquifer to better understand its hydrogeology and supply the OWRB information needed to determine the maximum annual yield based on various proposed management scenarios. The last report completed for the Cimarron Terrace aquifer was in Groundwater levels have been monitored using the mass measurement wells since around 1965 in this area. Pressure transducers have been deployed across the aquifer to help understand the

2 ! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster! short and long term responses of the aquifer. Work still to be completed for this investigation includes studying the recharge, a water quality analysis, defining the saturated thickness, performing pumping and slug tests, and a watershed synoptic analysis. The projected publication data for this report is December Presentation: Oklahoma Conservation Commission s Stream Monitoring & Wetlands Programs Dr. Dan Dvorett provided an overview of the stream monitoring efforts (water quality, biological, and stream habitat) being done by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission in the Cimarron River Basin. This basin was last monitored between 2012 and 2014; the next scheduled monitoring cycle will take place between 2017 and There are 26 stream monitoring sites in the Cimarron Basin. Water quality measurements (nutrients, salts, suspended and dissolved solids, etc.) are taken during 10 events per year for 2 years. Biological monitoring efforts consist of a fish collection and stream and riparian habitat measurements once during the rotation, collection on invertebrates 4 times during the rotation, and a measurement of E. coli during the recreational season. Due to conservation efforts and partnerships, 55 Oklahoma streams have been removed from the impaired water body list. Data collected as a result of these monitoring efforts is available by request. Biological data is available through a clickable map at In addition, wetland-mapping efforts are being performed by the OCC to understand the distribution and location of wetlands, including rare wetland types. Updated methods have identified more than 3000 additional wetlands in the Cimarron River Basin. Wetland maps are available at Presentation: Modelling Occupancy of Oklahoma Stream Fish: A New Plan for Long-term Community Monitoring Mr. Anthony Rodger presented about the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife s Stream Team and their new plan for long-term community monitoring. As part of their efforts, they hope to update the species distribution records and monitor distribution trends of various species. Oklahoma currently has 175 different fish species and the ODWC is working to ensure Oklahoma maintains as many of these species as possible in the coming decades. The occupancy modeling framework is being developed to help improve long-term community monitoring in Oklahoma. This framework will be used to identify discontinuities within distributional ranges and identify populations that have a high risk of extirpation. ODWC will be able to determine priority conservation areas and identify possible areas of reintroduction as a result of this framework. Presentation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Actions in the Cimarron River Watershed Mr. Daniel Fenner provided an overview of the conservation efforts underway through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This agency is in charge of the Endangered Species Act. Oklahoma has 25 federally-listed species; of which, 5 of them can be found in the Cimarron River Watershed. The Arkansas River Shiner is of special interest and was listed in 1998 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Much of the Cimarron River basin has been declared a

3 !! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster! 11/18/16! designated critical habitat for the Arkansas River Shiner. There are several recovery challenges in play including the lifecycle requirements and no in-stream flow protections. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are starting to do Species Status Assessments to better determine the extent a given species is threatened under different scenarios. Emphasis areas in the Great Plains include balancing wind energy development with species conservation and conservation of the ecological function of Prairie Rivers and Streams. Presentation: Integration Tool: ENVISION Dr. Gehendra Kharel provided an overview of an integration tool (ENVISION) the current EPSCoR team has been using to bring together data and models from both social and physical sciences. The research question posed for the Cimarron River Watershed focuses on understanding how extreme climate events affect the vulnerability of socio-ecological systems in the basin. The ENVISION platform provides a common frame of reference to bring together the relevant actors, policies, and landscape productions in the Cimarron basin. With guidance from stakeholders, the EPSCoR team will be able to specify the actor typology and develop relevant policies for the basin. Roundtable Discussion: During the final sessions of the day, attendees worked together to outline and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) regarding the conservation of water and wetlands in the Cimarron River Watershed. The following figures show which strengths (Fig. 1), weaknesses (Fig. 2), opportunities (Fig. 3), and threats (Fig. 4) were considered a high importance to amplify, minimize, seize, and counteract, respectively by those in attendance. Attendees were divided into five groups; each group provided their top four to five of each SWOT component. Each person was then asked to mark which two suggestions in both the strengths and opportunities components they felt were the most important in helping the conservation efforts and which two suggestions in both the weaknesses and threats components they felt were the most important to address to avoid obstacles in the conservation efforts.

4 Figure 1! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster!

5 Figure 2! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster!

6 Figure 3! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster!

7 Figure 4! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster!

8 ! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster! Based on the results from the SWOT analysis, we asked the symposium attendees if they were surprised by any of the results and if they had any suggestions for keeping up the momentum generated from this symposium. Surprises: In the strengths, attendees noted that the votes were split among the different monitoring components. While an individual component did not rank in the top few, when combined it shows that monitoring efforts are seen as an important strength worth noting. Attendees noted that they didn t realize the concerns about water use reporting. Several individuals said that is was good to acknowledge agency compatibility but feel that it is important we recognize that this requires effort; it is not a small task. How might we move forward from this symposium? Leverage other conferences such as the Governor s Water Conference or the Natural Resources Conference. Meet via webinars to hear about future directions at the various agencies and universities. Make sure decision makers and landowners are at the table to emphasize support. Have a town hall or public meeting so we can better understand how the public feels about conservation efforts in the Cimarron basin.

9 ! Written!by:!Emma!L.!Kuster! Agencies/Organizations Represented: U.S. Geological Survey Oklahoma Water Resources Board Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Oklahoma Conservation Commission Burns & McDonnell Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Cushing Economic Development Foundation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Oklahoma Corporation Commission Natural Resources Conservation Service Universities Represented: University of Oklahoma! Oklahoma State University!