Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS), Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), is offering a funding opportunity to improve assessments of floodplain connectivity and riverscape health. Current approaches to identify floodplain connectivity across the western United States rely on field data, limiting inference and spatial extent of data. However, existing lidar datasets through the USGS provide unique opportunities to develop approaches using lidar elevation data to provide robust estimates of floodplain connectivity. The ultimate use of these data would be to identify factors limiting healthy riverscapes across the Great Basin.

The CESU partner in collaboration with NOROCK's research fisheries biologist will advance the ability to evaluate riverscape health by addressing one or more of the following considerations to improve assessments of riverscape health:

1. Develop a workflow for using lidar to estimate floodplain connectivity within riverscapes in the Great Basin.
2. Demonstrate the benefits this approach in comparison to existing methods.
3. Quantify continuous estimates of floodplain connectivity across portions of the Great Basin.

Results will be useful to the broader community working to assess and restore the health and ecosystem services of riverscapes in the Western US in relation to drought, land management activities, and fish and wildlife populations. Biologists and geomorphologists from NOROCK and the CESU Partner will collaborate with federal and state agencies and NGO partners to ensure their approach and data are accessible, scalable, and transferable to encourage the uptake by the broader scientific community involved with riverscape health assessments and restoration actions.

This project focuses on using remote sensing products to efficiently direct resources to restoration of rivers and riparian areas. Using lidar data to map the health of riverscapes supports:

• SO 3435 - Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (June 25, 2025)
• SO 3442 - Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior (September 4, 2025) Improving methods beyond field data by leveraging available lidar data will provide continuous, robust measures of riverscape health, thus supporting and restoring Gold Standard Science approaches:
• EO 14303 - Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025)
• SO 3441 Implementing the Requirements of Executive Order 14303, Restoring Gold Standard Science, May 23, 2025 (August 29, 2025)

Restoring our riverscapes will inform Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior: and the lead to improved riverscape health that align with the Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act. Further, the benefits of this project will provide cascading benefits to fish and wildlife, thus recovering populations and species. This falls in line with the goals outlined in:

• EO 14313 - Establishing the President's Make America Beautiful Again Commission (July 3, 2025)
• SO 3435 - Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (June 25, 2025)
• SO 3442 - Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior (September 4, 2025)