WISCONSIN—Walking through USDA Forest Service lands here in the Eastern Region, it is easy to enjoy the sound of multiple small streams, zig-zagging alongside and through two-track-access roads and galvanized-pipe culverts. 

But it may be harder to see how these small streams connect to the health of the larger watershed where they flow. Yet, they can have impacts well beyond the borders of a national forest — ensuring cleaner water, enabling wildlife to access habitat and reducing the risk of flooding and erosion.

In the Eastern Region, teams of Forest Service researchers, scientists and volunteers have been looking to these streams and other key features as strategic opportunities to restore overall watershed conditions. Targeting improvements at the right area or feature. For instance, a culvert that is intended to keep water flowing under a road or other structure can have outsized ecological benefits. 

“Undersized or improperly designed crossings prevent the free flow of water and woody material, making them vulnerable to erosion, plugging and road washouts,” said Sheela Johnson, regional hydrologist for the Eastern Region. “They can also be barriers to aquatic organisms like fish and amphibian species, preventing them from accessing needed habitat (like colder waters) and food sources. Even though we haven’t surveyed all crossings yet, we know that thousands of culverts across the region are inadequate for aquatic organism passage.”  

With limited resources for improvements, the goal is to keep an eye on the big picture. Guiding these choices are Watershed Restoration Action Plans, stewarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, which classifies watersheds by healthiness ranging from functioning properly to functioning at risk to impaired function.

On the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, the Headwaters White River Watershed is the only undammed major tributary of the Connecticut River. Identified in 2012 as a location for potential WRAP projects, and submitted for approval in 2018, improvements to this watershed focus on water quality, wetland area and aquatic passage.

With 16 of the 19 proposed projects completed since 2018, the areas improved have moved to a status of functioning properly.

“For eight years now, I have observed and reflected on how the Forest Service and our partners have approached maintaining and enhancing watershed condition,” said Jeremy Mears, fish biologist for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests. “We have been diligent in our approach and through this collaborative process I have gained deep understanding for how things work in the field, on the ground and in the water.”

Because watersheds cross boundaries, collaboration is always a crucial element in improvement efforts. A series of WRAP projects on the Huron-Manistee National Forests focus on trout streams in the Manistee Ranger District that were designated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for their high economic and ecological value for cold-water habitat species. Because national forest lands comprised just 65% of the 16,817 acres identified, partnerships were absolutely critical for securing funding and achieving outcomes including closing over 17 miles of legacy/illegal roads to restore watershed conditions and opening over 11 miles of perennial trout stream for aquatic organism passage.

A major driver behind the funding and collaboration that make such projects possible is the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was founded in 2010 to protect and restore one of the largest ground freshwater systems in the world.

This year the Forest Service is anticipating $5.2 million in new funding for projects, yielding both environmental and economic benefits for the region. A 2018 study projected that every dollar of federal GLRI spending from 2010 to 2026 would produce $3.35 in additional economic activity in the region through 2036.

“Overall, GLRI funding has allowed us to tackle larger projects and work across bigger watershed areas than we could have otherwise,” Johnson said. “Every dollar of GLRI funding we spend is providing environmental benefits to local and downstream communities, supporting local jobs and protecting resources that are often of great economic and even cultural importance.”